Teaching and learning calculus with the TI-Nspire: A design experiment

Abstract

A design experiment was conducted to examine the role of the TI-Nspire, the latest graphing calculator from Texas Instruments, in teaching and learning calculus. This paper reports details on, and preliminary results of, the design experiment involving the design and conduct of a TI-Nspire Intervention Programme for an intact class of thirty-six secondary four students (15-16 years) from a secondary school in Singapore. Use of the TI-Nspire was integrated into teaching and learning Calculus concepts with the aid of the TI Navigator, a wireless classroom network system that enables instant and active interaction between students and teachers. Mathematics attitudes surveys and structured interviews were administered to assess the effects of the use of the TI-Nspire on students’ attitudes towards mathematics. It was found that appropriate use of graphical, numerical and algebraic representations of Calculus concepts using the TI-Nspire could enable the subjects to better visualize the concepts and make generalizations of relevant mathematical properties. Results of paired samples t-tests and interviews with students suggest that there the use of the TI-Nspire has a positive effect on students’ confidence in and perceived usefulness of mathematics.