Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept

Camilo Andrés Rodríguez-Nieto; Flor Monserrat Rodríguez-Vásquez; Javier García-García

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11160

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Camilo Andrés Rodríguez-Nieto ¹ ^* , Flor Monserrat Rodríguez-Vásquez ¹ , Javier García-García ¹

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¹ Autonomous University of Guerrero, MEXICO^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The quality of the intra-mathematical connections made by Mexican university students when solving tasks on the derivative was characterized. The typology of mathematical connections and the quality levels of mathematical connections were used. Interviews were conducted based on eight tasks applied to three case studies. The results showed that the quality of the intra-mathematical connections: different representations, procedural, implication, part-whole and meaning of the students, is found mostly at level 2 (consistent and argued mathematical connections) and only one student presented inconsistencies to find the correctness equation of the tangent line to the curve at a point (quality level 0 connection). Likewise, the metaphorical connection was identified when a student mentioned the metaphorical expression “the graph has no holes”, which suggests the conceptual metaphor “the graph is a path” referring to the continuity of a function. We believe that quality level 2 mathematical connections ensure understanding, and the quality level 0 mathematical connections are the reasons why students have difficulty understanding the derivative.

Keywords

quality of mathematical connections
derivative
university students
thematic analysis.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2021, Volume 17, Issue 9, Article No: em2006

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

Publication date: 23 Aug 2021

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

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APA

Rodríguez-Nieto, C. A., Rodríguez-Vásquez, F. M., & García-García, J. (2021). Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(9), em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

Vancouver

Rodríguez-Nieto CA, Rodríguez-Vásquez FM, García-García J. Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(9):em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

AMA

Rodríguez-Nieto CA, Rodríguez-Vásquez FM, García-García J. Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(9), em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

Chicago

Rodríguez-Nieto, Camilo Andrés, Flor Monserrat Rodríguez-Vásquez, and Javier García-García. "Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2021 17 no. 9 (2021): em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

Harvard

Rodríguez-Nieto, C. A., Rodríguez-Vásquez, F. M., and García-García, J. (2021). Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(9), em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160

MLA

Rodríguez-Nieto, Camilo Andrés et al. "Exploring University Mexican Students’ Quality of Intra-Mathematical Connections When Solving Tasks About Derivative Concept". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 17, no. 9, 2021, em2006. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11160