In this paper I analyze students' conceptual understanding of the quality of polynomial approximation. In particular, I analyze to what extent the interactive play with various methods of interpolation enables the students to build visual pictures that help understanding the formal mathematical statements. The role of the Mathematica software in…

A teaching experiment-using Mathematica to investigate the convergence of sequence of functions visually as a sequence of objects (graphs) converging onto a fixed object (the graph of the limit function)-is here used to analyze how the approach can support the dynamic blending of visual and symbolic representations that has the potential to lead…

Processes of knowledge construction are investigated. A learner is constructing knowledge about the notion of limit in the definition of the horizontal asymptote. The analysis is based on the dynamically nested epistemic action model for abstraction in context. Different tasks are offered to the learner. In her effort to perform the different…

Investigates how animation is used to improve students' comprehension of the limit concept in an experimental course in which the main topics are approximation and interpolation by Taylor polynomials. Uses Mathematica software to generate the dynamic graphics, visualize the process of convergence, and give meaning to the definitions. Analyzes…