Quadratic Functions: Students' Graphic and Analytic Representations

When designing and implementing a lesson, a teacher must draw upon knowledge of the difficulties his or her students are experiencing in order to help them understand the mathematics being taught. Here, Eraslan and Aspinwall examine student work in an attempt to identify the difficulties encountered by tenth-grade honors algebra students learning about quadratic functions. The study of quadratic functions allows students to explore mathematical patterns and relationships and plays a critical role in connecting linear functions with polynomial functions in the mathematics curriculum. The result of this study supports the importance of in-depth analysis of student thinking, and creates the teacher's opportunities to discuss with students their thought processes on given tasks that reveal students' more versatile thinking and reasoning.