PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 1)
2013
Denver, Colorado
Correlations of Students’ Ways of thinking about derivative to their success in solving applied problems
Page: 1-219
Students’ understanding of derivative and their difficulties in solving applied problems have been the subject of rich research work. However little research has examined students’ ways of thinking about derivative through the lens of their work on applied questions. The focus of this research is on whether relationships exist between students’ ways of thinking about derivative and success on applied derivative problems. Survey data were used to look at students’ multiple ways of thinking and their work on applied derivative problems. “Multiple ways of thinking” refers to two or more ways of thinking about derivative (e.g., slope of the tangent line at a point on a function or instantaneous rate of change). Findings indicate that students who demonstrate two or more ways of thinking about derivative were able to complete more steps of the applied problems.