PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
A Preservice Mathematics Teacher’s Covariational Reasoning as Mediator for Understanding of GlobalWarming
Page: 957
I examine one preservice mathematics teacher’s (PST’s) covariational reasoning in relation to two functions involved in modeling global warming. I also discuss how her covariational reasoning mediates her understanding of important concepts related to global warming. Jodi, the PST, completed a mathematical task I created for the study during an individual, task-based interview. The analysis of Jodi’s responses revealed that: (a) the level of covariational reasoning and conceptions regarding quantities can constrain/facilitate the understanding of concepts related to global warming, (b) overreliance on discrete variation can led to conflicting notions regarding global warming, and (c) reasoning about rate of change is necessary to make sense of mathematical models for global warming based on energy balance.