PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Does it converge? A look at second semester calculus students’ struggles determining convergence of series
Page: 704
Despite the multitude of research that exists on student difficulty in first semester calculus courses, little is known about student difficulty determining convergence of sequences and series in second semester calculus courses. In our preliminary report, we attempt to address this gap specifically by analyzing student work from an exam question that asks students to determine the convergence of a series and follow-up semi-structured interviews. We develop a framework that can be used to help analyze the mistakes students make when determining the convergence of series. In addition, we analyze how student errors relate to prerequisites they are expected to have entering the course, and how these errors are unique to knowledge about series.