A Theorization of Learning Environments to Support the Design of Intellectual Need-Provoking Tasks in Introductory Calculus
Abstract/Description:
Intellectual need is the need that students feel to understand how and why a particular mathematical idea came to be. We are interested in creating tasks that calculus instructors can use to provoke intellectual need. However, the current suggestions for designing such tasks lack detail and don’t account for several issues specific to undergraduate introductory calculus. In this theoretical paper, we discuss the idea of intellectual need, explore three issues related to the teaching of calculus, and present a theoretical model that task-designers can use to frame important factors that affect the development and use of these tasks.
Presenters:
Aaron Weinberg, Ithaca College and Steven Jones, Brigham Young University