RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
When Different Conceptions Hold Together: A Case of a Student’s Coordinate Systems and Graph Reasoning
Page: 1206
We report on a qualitative case study of a college algebra student, Jamie, who exhibited multiple conceptions of coordinate systems (Lee et al., 2020) and forms of graph reasoning (Johnson et al., 2020) during a single task-based interview. Our analysis of Jamie’s graph sketches and interactions with digital tools during the interview highlighted connections between her quantitative reasoning and conceptions of graphs. Specifically, Jamie’s conception of a quantitative coordinate system was closely linked to her reasoning about changing attributes and their relationships, whereas her conception of a spatial coordinate system was closely linked to her reasoning about the physical motion within the dynamic situation. Jamie’s case speaks to the complexity of students’ quantitative reasoning and illustrates the interconnectedness of their conceptions of coordinate systems and graph reasoning.