This study explores opportunities to learn definite integrals in three widely-used textbooks in the US, Definitions, worked examples, and exercise problems were coded using research based cognitive resources in definite integrals to examine if widely-used textbooks provide students with opportunities to explore how two quantities are related to…

Using the sawtooth map as the basis of a coupled map lattice enables simple analytic results to be obtained for the global Lyapunov spectra of a number of standard lattice networks. The results presented can be used to enrich a course on chaos or dynamical systems by providing tractable examples of higher dimensional maps and links to a number of…

This study investigates when and how university students in first-semester introductory calculus interpret multiple representations of the same function. Specifically, it focuses on three tasks. The first task has students give their definitions of 'function sameness', the results of which suggests that many students understand a function as being…

Background/purpose: The teaching of integral calculus has become increasingly important in higher education due to its role in the development of advanced mathematical thinking. In this context, the definite integral is recognised as a complex mathematical object with multiple interpretations. The present article aims to systematically review the…

This paper describes a project assigned in a multivariable calculus course. The project showcases many fundamental concepts studied in a typical course, including the distance formula, equations of lines and planes, intersection of planes, Lagrange multipliers, integrals in both Cartesian and polar coordinates, parametric equations, and arc length.

This study investigated two undergraduate mathematics students' meanings for derivatives of univariable and multivariable functions when creating linear approximations. Both participants completed multivariable calculus at least two semesters prior to participating in a sequence of four to five exploratory teaching interviews. One purpose of the…

A standard element of the undergraduate ordinary differential equations course is the topic of separable equations. For instructors of those courses, we present here a series of novel modeling scenarios that prove to be a compelling motivation for the utility of differential equations. Furthermore, the growing complexity of the models leads to the…

With a focus on related rates problems, the present study reports on quantitative and covariational reasoning opportunities provided by five widely used calculus textbooks in the United States. There are three major results from this study. First, quantitative reasoning opportunities are plentiful, while covariational reasoning opportunities are…

A productive understanding of rate of change concept is essential for constructing a robust understanding of derivatives. There is substantial evidence in the research that students enter and leave their Calculus courses with naive understandings of rate of change. Implementing a short unit on "what is rate of change" can address these…

We discuss student conceptions of improper integrals and infinity in the context of a second-semester calculus course (in a three-course sequence). Our observations stem from a sequence of activities used in an online course over a three-day period. Throughout the enactment of these activities, students are challenged to develop conceptions of…

This study examined college calculus instructors' preferences in solving two calculus tasks to examine college calculus instructors' use of important cognitive roots in understanding derivatives of function. Our results showed that only one instructor consistently uses cognitive roots while other instructors either focus on algebraic methods or…

Research results from this study reveal students have difficulties understanding and using of the concepts of average rate of change and the derivative function. Students in this study held multiple approach to understand the concepts that made it difficult to develop a strong understanding of the average rate of change and derivative function. In…

In the multivariable calculus course, a standard application of triple integration is to find volumes of bounded regions in R[superscript 3]. In this article, we consider the problem of computing volumes, by way of examples, of regions bounded by planes and quadric surfaces. For illustration, we present the solution to two basic but non-standard…

This article makes a case for introducing moving averages into introductory statistics courses and contemporary modeling/data-based courses in college algebra and precalculus. The authors examine a variety of aspects of moving averages and draw parallels between them and similar topics in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. The…

Over the last several centuries, mathematicians have developed sophisticated symbol systems to represent ideas often imperceptible to their five senses. Although conventional definitions exist for these notations, individuals attribute their personalized meanings to these symbols during their mathematical activities. In some instances, students…