On conceptual aspects of calculus: a study with engineering students from a Mexican university

Rivera-Figueroa, Antonio; Guevara-Basaldúa, Víctor

doi:10.1080/0020739x.2018.1543812

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Some studies show that understanding the concept of derivative is one of the most difficult concepts for students due to the complexity of its definition and representations (Thompson & Thompson, 1996;Zandieh, 2000;Auxtero & Callaman, 2020;Mirin, 2018). Many studies were conducted on students' thinking about the concepts of calculus including derivative (e.g., Berry & Nyman, 2003;Oehrtman, 2009;Rivera-Figueroa & Guevara-Basaldúa, 2019;Selden, Selden, Hauk & Mason, 2000). The historical trend of http://journals.ums.ac.id/index.php/jramathedu using derivative to its official definition took more than 200 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undergraduate basic sciences and engineering students’ understanding of the concept of derivative

Haghjoo

Ebrahim

2021

J. Res. Adv. Math. Educ

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Derivative is one of the most important topics in calculus that has many applications in various sciences. However, according to the research, students do not have a deep understanding of the concept of derivative and they often have misconceptions. The present study aimed to investigate undergraduate basic sciences and engineering students’ understanding of the concept of derivative at Tehran universities on based the framework of Zandieh. The method was descriptive-survey. The population included all undergraduate students of Tehran universities who passed Calculus I. The sample included 604 students being selected through multi-stage random cluster sampling. The measurement tool was a researcher-made test for which the reliability coefficient was obtained using Cronbach's alpha (r=.88). Inspired by Hähkiöniemi’s research, nine tasks on derivative learning were given to the students. The students’ responses were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive responses. The results indicated that students have no appropriate understanding of the basic concepts of derivatives in numerical, physical, verbal, and graphical contexts. Basic sciences students performed meaningfully were better in understanding the tangent line slope compared to engineering students, while engineering students performed meaningfully were better than basic sciences students in the rate of change.

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