PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2013
Denver, Colorado
A Microgenetic Study of One Student’s Sense Making About the Temporal Order of Delta and Epsilon
Page: 2-400
The formal definition of a limit, or the epsilon delta definition is a critical topic in calculus for mathematics majors’ development and the first chance for students to engage with formal mathematics. This report is a microgenetic study of one student understanding of the formal definition focusing on a particularly important relationship between epsilon and delta. diSessa’s Knowledge in Pieces and Knowledge Analysis provide frameworks to explore in detail the structure of students’ prior knowledge and their role in learning the topic. The study documents the progression of the student’s claims about the dependence between delta and epsilon and explores relevant knowledge resources.