Examining College Students' Conceptual Metaphors of Infinity Across Calculus Coursework Sequence

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Semiotics in Education: Signs, Meanings, and Multimodality SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

This study examined college students’ conceptual metaphors of duality in understanding and representing infinity. Data was collected using questionnaire from N=188 college students enrolled in one of the southwestern universities in the U.S. The questionnaire consisted of two open-ended tasks. Data was analyzed by three independent experts using coding scheme and data was checked for inter-rater reliability using Fleiss’s Kappa (κ=.7165). Results reveal that college students’ experiences in traditional Calculus sequence are not supportive of the development of duality conception. On the contrary, it significantly strengthens the singularity perspective on infinity confirmed by Chi-square statistic (χ2 =9.686, p< .05). Study main findings could serve as a facilitating instrument to further analyze cognitive obstacles in college students’ understanding of the infinity concept.

Authors

• Mourat Tchoshanov, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Grace O. Babarinsa-Ochiedike, Excelsior College

• Elena N Ibragimova, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University