Rene Descartes' method for finding tangents (equivalently, subnormals) depends on geometric and algebraic properties of a family of circles intersecting a given curve. It can be generalized to establish a calculus of subnormals, an alternative to the calculus of Newton and Leibniz. Here we prove subnormal counterparts of the well-known…

The aim of this study was to identify the effects of GeoGebra software on students' conceptual and procedural knowledge and the achievement of Form Two students in Mathematics particularly on the topic Function. In addition, this study determined the role of procedural knowledge as a mediator between conceptual knowledge and students' achievement.…

The concept of a tangent is important in understanding many topics in mathematics and science. Earlier studies on students' understanding of the concept of a tangent have reported that they have various misunderstandings and experience difficulties in transferring their knowledge about the tangent line from Euclidean geometry into calculus. In…

In this article, we give two examples of creating portable chalkboards using chalkboard paint for students to use during cooperative learning. This provides a creative method for professors to facilitate active learning in the undergraduate mathematics classroom.

The educational laws establish an organization and a grouping of the contents of the educational system they rule. As far as we know, the set of experts who design it neither follow precise objective criteria nor use computer tools. That is why they are not usually rotund. We consider that defining precise objective criteria is the key to develop…

The paper investigates geometric errors students made as they tried to use their basic geometric knowledge in the solution of the Applied Calculus Optimization Problem (ACOP). Inaccuracies related to the drawing of geometric diagrams (visualization skills) and those associated with the application of basic differentiation concepts into ACOP…

Covariational reasoning has been the focus of many studies but only a few looked into this reasoning in the polar coordinate system. In fact, research on student's familiarity with polar coordinates and graphing in the polar coordinate system is scarce. This paper examines the challenges that students face when plotting polar curves using the…

These proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 41st annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) held in St. Louis, Missouri, November 14-17, 2019. This year's conference theme is "...against a new horizon." The papers comprise 67…

Two philosophical ideas motivate this paper. The first is an answer to the question of what is an appropriate activity for a physicist. My answer is that an appropriate activity is anything where the tools of a physicist enable him or her to make a contribution to the solution of a significant problem. This may be obvious in areas that overlap…

The high school curriculum sometimes seems like a disconnected collection of topics and techniques. Theorems like the factor theorem and the remainder theorem can play an important role as a conceptual "glue" that holds the curriculum together. These two theorems establish the connection between the factors of a polynomial, the solutions…

This study investigates the effectiveness of a teaching activity that aimed to convey the meaning of indeterminate forms to a group of undergraduate students who were enrolled in an elementary mathematics education programme. The study reports the implementation sequence of the activity and students' experiences in the classroom. To assess the…

This study addresses the embodied approach of convergence of numerical sequences using the GeoGebra software. We discuss activities that were applied in regular calculus classes, as a part of a research which used a qualitative methodology and aimed to identify contributions of the development of activities based on the embodiment of concepts,…

The 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a survey of all public schools and school districts in the United States. The CRDC measures student access to courses, programs, staff, and resources that impact education equity and opportunity for students. The CRDC has long provided critical information used by the Department of Education's…

This paper discusses the importance of considering bilingual learners' non-linguistic forms of communication for understanding their mathematical thinking. In particular, I provide a detailed analysis of communication involving a pair of high school bilingual learners during an exploratory activity where a touchscreen-based dynamic geometry…

In recent years, changes in the Brazilian economic and social scenario have generated a growing demand for higher education in the country. In response to this new context, the federal government launched in 2007 a programme aiming at expansion of the enrolment to public higher education. In such environment of changes, several proposals have…