The Effect of a Constructivist Learning Environment on the Limit Concept among Mathematics Student Teachers

Bukova-Guzel E.

KURAM VE UYGULAMADA EGITIM BILIMLERI, vol.7, no.3, pp.1155-1198, 2007 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 7 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2007
  • Journal Name: KURAM VE UYGULAMADA EGITIM BILIMLERI
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.1155-1198
  • Keywords: Constructivism, Designing Constructivist learning Environment, The Limit Concept, Learning Activities, Worksheets
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to design a constructivist learning environment that helps learning the limit concept. The study is a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research. The control and the experimental groups were chosen from the students attending a calculus course. Worksheets were used to assess students' learning of the limit concept. As a result of data analysis, it was found that the constructivist learning environment provided positive contribution to learning of the limit concept. It was determined that the experimental group was more successful than the control group in seeing the relations between the limits and the real world, At the same time, experimental group had lesser difficulty in understanding the limits. However, both the experimental and the control groups had difficulty in applying the delta-epsilon approach. It is concluded chat this study would guide when learning environment is design to construct mathematical concepts.