A COVARIATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF FUNCTION: PUTTING A HORSE BEFORE THE CART

Supporting students developing understandings of function has been a notoriously elusive task in mathematics education. We present Thompson and Carlson’s (2017) description of a covariational meaning of function and provide an example of a student who maintains meanings compatible with this descript...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:For the learning of mathematics 2018-11, Vol.38 (3), p.37-43
Main Authors: PAOLETTI, TEO, MOORE, KEVIN C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comprehension
Definitions
Knowledge Level
Mathematical Concepts
Mathematics Education
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Supporting students developing understandings of function has been a notoriously elusive task in mathematics education. We present Thompson and Carlson’s (2017) description of a covariational meaning of function and provide an example of a student who maintains meanings compatible with this description. We use this student’s activity to illustrate nuances in a covariational meaning of function and to highlight how such meanings can be powerful. We argue a student who has developed meanings compatible with a covariational meaning of function has the foundational meanings needed to understand a formal definition of function (i.e. the horse needed to pull the cart).
ISSN:0228-0671