PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2013
Denver, Colorado
Providing Opportunities for College-Level Calculus Students to Engage in Theoretical Thinking
Page: 2-441
Previous research has reported an absence of a theoretical thinking component in college-level Calculus courses. While valid arguments can be made for or against the necessity of incorporating such a component, our belief is that students who wish to engage in theoretical thinking should be given the chance to do so. Our goal is to determine whether instructors can provide their students with opportunities to engage in theoretical thinking, despite constraints they often face such as time, course content, and assessment material. This report presents a preliminary analysis of a study in which we presented students in a Calculus class with tasks intended to provoke theoretical thinking. Using Sierpinska et al.’s (2002) model for theoretical thinking we show that students who engaged in these optional tasks where in fact engaging in theoretical thinking. We conclude that, despite the institutional constraints, incorporating such a component is indeed feasible.