Effect of a Virtual Forum on Learning Differential Calculus

Abstract

This study sought to determine the effect of a virtual forum, as a mediation strategy, on learning differential calculus content associated with limits and continuity of functions among first-semester computer engineering students in a Venezuelan university. The research was quantitative and used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with an experimental and a control group. An intra-group analysis based on a Student’s t-test found that the forum strategy had an effect on the experimental group’s learning, while the traditional strategy based on face-to-face activities had no effect on the control group’s learning. However, the intra-group analysis found no significant differences between both groups’ posttests, suggesting a need to review the way the forum is implemented to improve learning outcomes in mathematics in the future.