Understanding the concept of derivative through dynamic visualisations by GeoGebra

Nguyen H; Greefrath G

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the challenges students face in understanding the derivative at the upper secondary level. The use of visualisations can prove beneficial in this regard. However, the studies on the effectiveness of dynamic compared to static visualisations in mathematics lessons yield contradictory results. This article thus examines the influence of dynamic versus static visualisations on the understanding of the derivative concept. Therefore, a sample size of 272 students was used to compare these two approaches in a pre-post control group design with a six-hour teaching sequence as an intervention. The results indicated that both groups exhibited an enhancement in their understanding of the derivative. However, there was a statistically significant difference in favour of the students who employed dynamic visualisations over those who used static visualisations on an understanding-oriented test about the derivative.