This study proposes methods of reporting results of physics conceptual evaluations that more fully characterize the range of outcomes experienced by students with differing levels of prior preparation, allowing for more meaningful comparison of the outcomes of educational interventions within and across institutions. Factors leading to variation…

This study aimed to investigate the relative effectiveness of a computer-supported teaching sequence in solving optimization problems in calculus compared to a traditional teaching approach. The participants in the study were 46 first-year prospective mathematics teachers studying in two different classes of a four-year elementary mathematics…

Covariational reasoning is a cognitive activity that attends to two or more varying quantities and how their changes are related to each other. Previous studies indicate that covariational reasoning seems to have levels. Content analysis was used to examine the pedagogy and development of covariational reasoning levels in the sections that…

The purpose of this study was to help undergraduate STEM students at a Hispanic-serving institution make connections between calculus and physics content and their lives using a utility-value intervention. As part of either a Calculus II or a calculus-based Newtonian Physics course, 471 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either read…

Many mathematics teachers and students are familiar with the typical "box problem." In this type of problem, one takes a rectangular (or a square) sheet of paper and cuts out four squares from the four corners of the sheet and then folds the four strips up to form a box. Math problems like this are seen in middle school, high school,…

In calculus, related rates problems are some of the most difficult for students to master. This is due, in part, to the nature of the problems, which require constructing a nuanced mental model and a solid understanding of the function. Many textbooks present a procedure for their solution that is unlike how experts approach the problem and elide…

The literature describes different stances concerning the focus on how mathematics should be taught, with some preferring a conceptual knowledge approach and others a procedural knowledge approach. The current study investigated the relationship between students' conceptual and procedural knowledge in a calculus context. To better understand the…

This article shows results on the simulation of partial differential equations such as the heat equation, the Laplace equation and the wave equation in a course called mathematical methods at a university in Bogotá Colombia. In this course, the concept of partial differential equations and different solution methods were explained to them, both in…

From an APOS (Action-Process-Object-Schema) theory perspective, learning mathematics involves construction of knowledge through mental mechanisms, which evolves between different mental structures or stages. The focus of this study is to explore how transition occurs from an Action to a Process conception, in the context of a task related to the…

We report a characterization of the reflections made by high school mathematics teachers when discussing their resolutions of three numerical tasks related to the concept of function understood as a mathematical procept. Thematic analysis was used to code and categorize the reflections. Six teachers with at least 5 years of professional experience…

This study is based on an exploratory teaching experiment, integrating the use of GeoGebra, carried out with Brazilian pre-service mathematics teachers that were attending a Pre-Calculus course. We focus on the contributions of GeoGebra to the learning that the students evidence about the 'instantaneous rate of change', in this teaching experiment…

The article uses dynamic visualizations in Excel to examine a variety of ways in which students can attain a much greater depth of understanding of optimization problems in introductory calculus. The topics discussed include a variety of common optimization problems that appear in virtually every calculus textbook that can all be enhanced…

Despite the standardization of calculus education as a Calculus and Analytic Geometry course after the 1950s, curriculum updates have been slow to penetrate the undergraduate mathematics classroom practice, taking decades to manifest. Common struggles with the teaching and learning of calculus, such as relying on a procedural understanding of…

The postsecondary Calculus series poses an ongoing challenge for students and instructors. With the rapid growth of STEM careers and the traditional role of calculus as a gatekeeper to higher mathematics, it is urgent that students develop a stronger skillset with regard to calculus topics. The current availability of technology allows instructors…

In this article, the authors share activities designed to help students make a connection between the complex roots of X[superscript 2] - 2x + 5 = 0 and the graph of y = X[superscript 2] - 2x + 5. We piloted these activities in three precalculus classes. The activities involved both concrete and technological representations of the mathematical…