PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
A conceptual analysis for optimizing two-variable functions in linear programming
Page: 374
Secondary mathematics curricula predominantly present linear programming by introducing the corner point principle and formulating steps for a solution. The teaching and learning of this topic often overlook justification for the principle and procedures. Drawing on six clinical interviews with an in-service teacher, we illustrate how her covariational reasoning supported conceiving quantities’ multi-variation entailed by an objective function and its constraints (a system of inequalities). We build upon this teacher’s understandings to propose a conceptual analysis for optimizing two-variable objective functions in the context of linear programming.