NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1295682
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1051-1970
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Pancake Story and the Epsilon-Delta Definition
PRIMUS, v31 n6 p662-677 2021
The complexity in understanding the [epsilon-delta] definition has motivated research into the teaching and learning of the topic. In this paper I share my design of an instructional analogy called the Pancake Story and four different questions to explore the logical relationship between [epsilon] and [delta] that structures the definition. I designed the story from an anti-deficit perspective on students' mathematical thinking. I leverage students' intuitions about quality control, and explicitly build on students' prior knowledge that I gathered from student interviews. I illustrate the utility of the story in supporting students' sense-making of the formal definition by sharing changes in students' claims and justifications about the relationship between [epsilon] and [delta]. Students' justifications also provide examples of the kind of thinking an instructor might expect to see in the classroom when using the story. I end the paper with some classroom implications and a teaching episode illustrating how students might use the story to make sense of limit more broadly.
Taylor & Francis. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A