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Abstract

Threshold concepts remain relatively unexplored in mathematics, despite suggestions that the troublesome nature of such concepts pose a critical barrier to student understanding of mathematics. Many studies have identified student difficulties with limits, and their findings point to a strong likelihood that limits do indeed constitute a threshold concept in mathematics. This paper describes the initial results in a study that sought to investigate students’ understanding of limits and differentiation from the prospective of Threshold Concepts. While the findings to date do not provide conclusive evidence for limits as a threshold concept, they do reinforce the troublesome nature of the limit concept, and suggest some important implications for the teaching of limits consistent with previous studies.

Item Type:	Conference Publication
Authors/Creators:	Oates, GN and Reaburn, RL and Brideson, MA and Dharmadasa, HK
Keywords:	calculus, threshold concepts, misconceptions
Journal or Publication Title:	Proceedings of the Eleventh Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics
Publisher:	Delta Conferences
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2017 the Author
Related URLs:	Google Scholar: Oates, GN UTAS Profile: Oates, GN Google Scholar: Reaburn, RL UTAS Profile: Reaburn, RL UTAS Profile: Brideson, MA UTAS Profile: Dharmadasa, HK
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