Differences in the Comprehension of the Limit Concept Between Prospective Mathematics Teachers and Managerial Mathematicians During Online Teaching

Abstract

The paper deals with university student's understanding of a limit process. We involved two groups of students with different specializations in the research: a group of pre-service mathematics teachers (PMTs) and a group of students of managerial mathematics (MNGs). Since the objectives for learning higher mathematics, particularly mathematical analysis, differ significantly, we expected a significant difference in reasoning between these groups. Therefore, we identified (literature- and empirical-based) the most common obstacles and misconceptions when learning a concept of limit. A teaching series was prepared, enacted, and analyzed. When analyzing students’ solutions, we applied codes from the literature with minor changes. We used two-dimensional contextual analysis to work with students’ answers and provided explanations: type of argument (based on Stylianides’s work) and representation. Our findings confirm the problems identified in the literature when we looked at the groups without distinguishing them. Moreover, we identified and discussed some specific outcomes in the group of PMTs and MNGs separately.