Pre-service teachers' understanding of the derivative of a function at a point

Abstract

This article aims to delve into the meaning of school mathematical concepts by their semantic analysis. Concretely, this paper aimed primarily to describe and characterize the meaning of derivative of a function at a point expressed by mathematics pre-service teachers. In order to achieve this goal, we use a semantic framework, in which the meaning is composed of: (a) conceptual structure, (b) representation systems, and (c) sense and usage. This qualitative, descriptive study analysed the replies of 37 pre-service teachers to questions involving the definition, requirements, and structural concept of derivatives. It also explores the sense and usage attributed by participants to this mathematical concept. At least five profiles of meanings for derivatives could be constructed from the results. The most prominent findings included the prevalence of the geometric interpretation of the concept and participants’ failure to mention elements and requisites essential to the definition of derivatives.