An APOS Analysis of Grade 11 Learners’ Errors and Misconceptions Under Hyperbolic Functions: A Case Study at a Rural High School in Limpopo Province in South Africa

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a baseline study that fed on to a broader investigation exploring ICT integration in the teaching of functions. The baseline study was premised on the observation that the notion of function, despite being a fundamental and central idea in the mathematics school curriculum, presents pedagogical challenges to both teachers and learners. The study used the qualitative case study design to investigate Grade 11 mathematics learners’ errors and misconceptions under hyperbolic functions at a rural high school in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Informed by the constructivist APOS theory conception levels, learners’ errors were detected from their written responses in a diagnostic test. The learners were then individually interviewed during task-based interviews to infer on the misconceptions underlying their errors. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed the following categories of misconceptions: algebraic, conceptual, asymptotic, graphical, and notational misconceptions. The study established that errors, if diagnosed and corrected, are springboards and milestones to the formulation and construction of proper mathematical ideas. To resolve learners’ misconceptions, this study recommends that teachers should use explorative and discovery pedagogical strategies to enable learners realize their own misconceptions and self-correct. Based on the findings of this study, the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching functions as an intervention strategy will be explored.