Students understanding of the concept of limit of a function in vocational high school mathematic

Abstract

The authors report on a study which used the APOS theory to examine vocational high school students’ understanding of limit of functions. The limits of real functions were taught to computer technology, electricity-energy, electronics and automation, construction, and machinery-metal technology programs students at a vocational high school in Kocaeli University in Turkey. It is given the analysis of students’ responses to four types of questions on limits of real functions; limits of split-functions, limits at infinity of rational functions, limits of functions not defined at a point, and continuity of real functions. As a main finding of the study, vocational high school students find difficult to understand the limits of real functions. Also, it suggests that this is possibly the result of many students not having appropriate mental structures at the process, object and schema levels

Keywords

• limits of real functions, the Apos theory, vocational high school