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Students' models of the knowledge to be learned about limits in college level Calculus courses. The influence of routine tasks and the role played by institutional norms

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Students' models of the knowledge to be learned about limits in college level Calculus courses. The influence of routine tasks and the role played by institutional norms

Hardy, Nadia (2009) Students' models of the knowledge to be learned about limits in college level Calculus courses. The influence of routine tasks and the role played by institutional norms. PhD thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

This thesis presents a study of instructors' and students' perceptions of the knowledge to be learned about limits of functions in a college level Calculus course, taught in a North American college institution. I have modeled these perceptions using a theoretical framework, which combines elements of the Anthropological Theory of Didactics, developed in mathematics education, with a framework for the study of institutions - the Institutional Analysis and Development framework - developed in political science. I describe the models and illustrate them with examples from the empirical data, on which they have been built: final examinations from the past six years (2001-2007), used in the studied College institution, and specially designed interviews with 28 students. While a model of the instructors' perceptions could be formulated mostly in mathematical terms, a model of the students' perceptions had to include an eclectic mixture of mathematical, social, cognitive and didactic norms . The analysis that I carry out shows that these students' perceptions have their source in the institutional emphasis on routine tasks and on the norms that regulate the institutional practices. Finally, I describe students' thinking about various tasks on limits from the perspective of Vygotsky's theory of concept development. Based on the 28 interviews that I have carried out, I will discuss the role of institutional practices on students' conceptual development.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Mathematics and Statistics
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Authors:Hardy, Nadia
Pagination:xvii, 422 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:Ph. D.
Program:Mathematics
Date:2009
Thesis Supervisor(s):Sierpinska, A
Identification Number:LE 3 C66M38P 2009 H37
ID Code:976385
Deposited By: Concordia University Library
Deposited On:22 Jan 2013 16:24
Last Modified:13 Jul 2020 20:10
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