Proposal of an algorithmic methodology in Geo Gebra for the teaching of the Riemann sum a tool for approximating definite integrals

Abstract

Abstract Integral calculus is a fundamental subject that enables the teaching of branches of physics like, mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism to engineering students. However, the incapacity of understanding either the concept of the area under a curve or to develop an efficient and simple way to calculate integrals continues to be a major cause of the high failure rate of students in these subjects. This work was developed parting from the proposal of using Information and communication technologies, in combination with flowcharts, for helping students to solve integrals trough Riemann sums. Even, a poll was used to recollect and do a qualitative evaluation on the degree of comprehension that students had on Riemann sums and their relation to integrals and to get feedback on their impression about the proposal of this work. The results are compared against traditional learning, based on memorizing the steps of the algorithm for each method and the representation of the convergence of successive roots by numerical tables.