Analysis of a university student’s construction of a praxeology for integration tasks

Abstract

This study utilizes the model of didactic moments from the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic to examine a university student’s praxeological work pertaining to a set of four integration tasks. The research focuses on themes related to the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC), which elucidate the technological aspects of the employed techniques. By analyzing the integral calculus content in the textbook used by the student at upper secondary level, the study identifies a potential causal relationship between the textbook’s treatment of integration and shortcomings in the student’s praxeological equipment. Specifically, it is found that an essential element of the FTC—interpreting area in terms of a function—was missing in the textbook’s logos block on integration. Furthermore, the analysis reveals a predominance of algebraic techniques over graphical ones in the student’s performance of the set of tasks. The findings underscore the impact of educational resources on students’ praxeological equipment and highlight the need for a critical evaluation of these resources using didactic transposition analysis. The study advocates developing a praxeological organization for integral calculus in order to guide curriculum designers and textbook authors, thereby bridging the educational gap between secondary and tertiary education and enhancing students’ comprehension of integral calculus.