Abstract
In this paper we report the first phase of a study that aims to analyse curriculum content, pedagogical practice and student perceptions of the complex, often counter-intuitive but significant mathematical concept of infinite sum (aka series in Calculus). Sources of student difficulty with the concept identified in previous, not very extensive, research include:
certain student perceptions of infinity; limited exposure to visualisation, contextualisation and applications of infinite sums; and, teaching through reduction to an algorithmic approach. Here we report preliminary analyses regarding curriculum content and, in particular, the initial phases of a three-dimensional analysis (cognitive, epistemological, didactical) of mainstream texts used to introduce the concept to undergraduates in the
UK.
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