ERIC Number: ED584904
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Nov
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Transition from Derivative at a Point to Derivative as a Function
Park, Jungeun; Flores, Alfinio
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (34th, Kalamazoo, MI, Nov 1-4, 2012)
This paper explores how textbooks address two central concepts in differential calculus, derivative at a point and derivative function, make the transition from one concept to the other, and establish connections between them. We analyzed how the three most widely used calculus textbooks present these two aspects of the derivative, focusing on visual means and word use in the books. In contrast to their thorough discussion on the limit process for the derivative at a point, the books make a quick transition to the derivative function by "letting a point 'a' vary" and changing "f'(a) to f'(x)." Then, they graph f'(x) using several values of the derivative at a point. In addition, the books often use the term "derivative" without specifying which of the two concepts is meant, and are inconsistent in the use of letters, so that it is unclear whether a letter (a or x[subscript 1]) denotes an arbitrary but fixed number or a variable. [For the complete proceedings, see ED584829.]
Descriptors: Calculus, Mathematics Instruction, Textbook Evaluation, Mathematical Concepts, Textbook Content, College Mathematics, Introductory Courses
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. e-mail: pmena.steeringcommittee@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.pmena.org/
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A