PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ways of understanding and ways of thinking in using the derivative concept in applied (non-kinematic) contexts
Page: 917
Much research on students’ understanding of derivatives in applied contexts has been done in kinematics-based contexts (i.e. position, velocity, acceleration). However, given the wide range of applied derivatives in other fields of study that are not based on kinematics, this study focuses on how students interpret and reason about applied derivatives in non- kinematics contexts. Three main ways of understanding or ways of thinking are described in this paper, including (1) invoking time, (2) overgeneralization of implicit differentiation, and (3) confusion between derivative expression and original formula.