International Journal of Mathematical Education in

Science and Technology

ISSN: 0020-739X (Print) 1464-5211 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes20

A learning trajectory for the fundamental theorem

of calculus using digital tools

Osama Swidan

To cite this article: Osama Swidan (2019): A learning trajectory for the fundamental theorem
of calculus using digital tools, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and
Technology, DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2019.1593531

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1593531

Published online: 25 Mar 2019.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1593531

A learning trajectory for the fundamental theorem of calculus

using digital tools
Osama Swidan
Graduate Program for Science & Technology Education, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva,
Israel

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This study sets for itself the task of constructing a learning trajectory Received 5 November 2018
for the fundamental theorem of calculus (FTC) that takes into account KEYWORDS
the interaction with an educational digital tool. Students were asked Awareness; fundamental
to explain the connections between interactive and multiple-linked theorem of calculus; learning
representations in an educational digital tool, and to conjecture trajectory; digital tools
about the mathematical relationships embedded in it. The study was
guided by the theory of knowledge objectification. We included two
rounds of analysis: one, to detect ‘learning focuses’ involved in learn-
ing the FTC and to identify the relationship between them; the other,
to identify the ways in which students used the tool to become aware
of each focus. Data analysis identified nine focuses in the process
of learning the FTC. We described these focuses, the relationships
between them, and the ways in which students interacted with the
tool to characterize the learning trajectory of the FTC.

1. Introduction
This paper seeks to construct a learning trajectory for the fundamental theorem of calculus
(FTC) that takes into account the student’s interaction with a dynamic tool, the so-called
Dynamic Accumulation Tool (DAT), which introduces integration through the accumu-
lation function approach. These interactions require, among others, the introduction of
recent cognitive theories that treat cognition as inseparable from our bodily actions and
our interactions with artefacts [1]. Conversely, investigating students’ interactions with
educational digital tools in the course of the learning process can shed light on the general
problem of constructing learning trajectories, a problem considered to be an important
issue facing mathematics education [2,3]. In the present investigation of constructing a
learning trajectory for the FTC with educational digital tools, we elaborate the idea of a
learning trajectory by looking at critical moments throughout the learning process. We
refer to these moments, which may lead to a particular development regarding the under-
standing of the FTC, as focuses of learning. We define a focus of learning as an activity
in which students seek to become aware of the mathematical components involved in the
FTC structure, and the relationships between them. The process of becoming aware also
includes perceptual actions (e.g. interaction with the tool, watching, listening, gesturing,

CONTACT Osama Swidan osamasw@gmail.com

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

2 O. SWIDAN

etc.) that prompt students to transition from a situation of not seeing the mathematical
relationships present in the tool to one in which they recognize them and their meanings
[4–6]. Our previous study found that interaction with educational digital tools prompted
students to discover mathematical relationships they did not recognized before [7,8]. The
learning trajectory should therefore be constructed in light of students’ interaction with
the educational digital tools, taking into account how these interactions affect students’
learning.
The topic of the FTC was not chosen arbitrarily. First, given its importance for mathe-
matics and for mathematical applications, it is crucial that mathematics education research
give the FTC due attention. For example, students learn to use the FTC to calculate areas
under curves, usually by way of anti-derivatives. For many students, the working definition
of the definite integral is the difference between the antiderivative values [9]. But accord-
ing to Bressoud, ‘when this interpretation of the theorem [the FTC] is combined with the
common definition of integration, this theorem ceases to have any meaning’ (p. 99). To
provide students with a deeper understanding of the FTC, it has been suggested that a
conceptual change is needed, from recognizing an integral as an area obtained by a limit
of approximating rectangles to seeing the area as a vehicle for approaching a more gen-
eral idea of accumulation of any quantity for which the rate of accumulation is known
[9,10,11]. Because of the mutual relationships between the concepts of accumulation and
rate of change, it is possible to learn integration using the accumulation function as a ‘cog-
nitive root’ (in David Tall’s words), and building on it the understanding of the various
components involved in the FTC, and the relationships between them. At the same time,
using the accumulation function as cognitive root for learning integration naturally invites
the use of digital tools, to design learning environments that boost the understanding of
mutual relationship between accumulation and rate of change [10].
Thompson et al. [10] have also recognized the importance of delineating such a
learning trajectory for introductory calculus. According to their approach, students are
encouraged to build an understanding of the relationship between the concepts of accu-
mulation and rate of change, symbolize that relationship, and extend it to achieve a
broader reach. Moreover, Thompson et al. [10] have suggested, as we have, that such
a learning trajectory can be implemented only with the use of digital tools. Although
they specified a set of steps that students should learn, they did not fully address the
ways in which students are to use the digital tools to build this relationship or how
the digital tools may affect the students’ thinking. Based on the theoretical consider-
ations mentioned at the outset and on our empirical findings, we expect to provide,
in this work, a clearer picture of such learning trajectories. This article seeks to con-
tribute to the ongoing development of learning trajectories by understanding the role
of digital tools and of students’ interaction with them in constructing a learning trajec-
tory for the FTC. To shed light on this issue, we focus on how the students learn only
through their interaction with the educational tool and without any instruction from a
teacher.

1.1. Learning trajectory

The notion of a learning trajectory has various meanings for various mathematics educa-
tion researchers. For example, Simon’s [12] original description of a hypothetical learning
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 3

trajectory consists of ‘the learning goal, the learning activities, and the thinking and
learning in which students might engage’ (p. 133). Clements and Sarama [13] elaborated
on this description by emphasizing three parts of a learning trajectory: a mathematical
goal, a model of cognition they called ‘developmental progressions’ and instructional tasks
providing experiences for students to progress through the developmental levels. Similarly,
Wilson et al. [14] defined learning trajectories as research-based descriptions of how stu-
dents’ thinking evolves over time, from informal ideas to increasingly complex ones. Weber
et al. [15] referred to learning trajectories, as representations of learning that elucidate how
students may engage with tasks, reflect on tasks and develop knowledge through work on
these tasks. The descriptions by [15] and [14] are compatible with our approach, aimed
at designing tasks for learning the FTC. Our approach enables students to reflect on the
tasks while using a digital tool, with the mediation process of the tool helping students
become aware of the mathematical knowledge deposited in the digital tools. In this arti-
cle, we distinguish between a hypothetical learning trajectory, which refers to the proposed
learning trajectory, before its empirical examination, and the actual learning trajectory,
which refers to the elaboration of the proposed learning trajectory, after its empirical
examination.
In general, studies on learning trajectories have focused extensively on the learning
of basic mathematical topics in elementary schools, such as length measurement [16],
children’s composition of geometric figures [17]. In the last few years, learning trajec-
tory research has been conducted on more advanced topics such as algebraic reasoning,
calculus and trigonometry. Weber and Thompson [18] have constructed a hypotheti-
cal learning trajectory for how students may generalize their understanding of graphs
of one-variable functions to graphs of two-variable functions. Guided by the instruc-
tional design theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), Wawro et al. [19]
have presented an innovative instructional sequence for an introductory linear algebra
course that supports students’ reinvention of the concepts of span, linear dependence
and linear independence. The studies reviewed above were often guided by radical con-
structivism or by the RME approach. The former focuses on the accommodation and
assimilation of the learner’s mental schemes, whereas the latter focuses on problems in
context.
In this article, we resort to a non-mentalist approach of thinking as our point of depar-
ture. This approach attributes a central role in shaping the mind to our actions and
interactions with the any kind of artefacts, and considers educational digital tools and social
interaction with them as playing a central role in human cognition [6].

1.2. The theory of knowledge objectification

In order to frame the relationship between the digital tools and the understanding of the
FTC that may arise from their use, the study was guided by the theory of knowledge objec-
tification [20]. In this article, by objectification we refer to the processes of becoming aware
through digital tool of the mathematical components involved in the FTC and of the rela-
tionships between them, e.g. the processes that students underwent to become aware of the
mutual relationship between the concepts of accumulation and rate of change. We consider
learning to be a process of becoming aware of the mathematical objects made available by
the tool used in the study, and actively endowing them with meaning.
4 O. SWIDAN

Becoming aware of mathematical objects involves making use of different semiotic

means such as words, symbols, actions with the tool and gestures [20]. From a pragmatic
point of view, Radford suggested an analytical tool for analysing educational mathematical
activities carried out by means of artefacts. The basic components of the analytical tool are
the students’ attention and awareness of the mathematical object (a pragmatic definition of
attention and awareness is given in the data analysis section). He maintains that a variety
of semiotic means that have a representational function attract the students’ attention to
mathematical objects. The features of the artefact can help students attend to the math-
ematical objects related to the activity under consideration. By paying attention to the
necessary aspects of the mathematical phenomenon and using various semiotic means,
students become aware of the attributes of mathematical objects that are part of that
phenomenon.
The theory of knowledge objectification considers thinking to be a mediated reflection,
in accordance with the form or mode of activity of individuals [21]. Radford used the
term ‘mediating’ to characterize the role played by artefacts in carrying out social prac-
tices. According to him, we think with and through artefacts (e.g. ruler, book, etc.), which
are essential sources of learning and shape our thinking. Educational artefacts are carri-
ers of knowledge that is approved by scientific communities (mathematicians, physicists,
historians, etc.), that is, how one interacts with them is governed by the same discourse
that informs these communities. Therefore, social practices are not limited to the interac-
tions between people in a learning setting but also include the interactions conducted with
the educational artefact. For Radford, reflection means a dialectical movement between the
approved knowledge and individuals who modify it according to their own interpretations,
actions and feelings. In the mediated reflection process of learning, semiotic means are con-
sidered fundamental constituents of thinking because they mediate the social activity and
bind the individual to the approved knowledge.

1.3. Mathematical and cognitive aspects of the FTC

The FTC is commonly presented as follows [9]:
For any function f that is continuous on the interval [a, b] and differentiable on the open
interval (a, b),
 x
d
f (t)dt = f (x) for a < x < b. (1)
dx a
And, if the function F is continuous on [a, b], differentiable on (a, b), and F’(x) = f (x) for
all x in (a,b), then
 b
f (t)dt = F(b) − F(a). (2)
a

Equation (1) combines differentiation and integration, and it is known as the antideriva-
tive part because it shows how to use the definite integral to construct an antiderivative.
Equation (2) is known as the evaluation part of the FTC because it shows how to use an
antiderivative to evaluate the definite integral [9].
Building on the first part of the FTC, Thompson [22] described the FTC as a means
of expressing the relationship between the accumulation of a quantity and the rate of
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 5

change of the accumulation. The mutual relationship between the accumulation function
and other functions related to calculus concepts, derivative and antiderivative, can help
students see the connection between the concepts of integral and derivative, and become
aware of these links as the FTC. For this reason, the hypothetical learning trajectory was
designed around the idea of recognizing the area as a vehicle for expressing accumulation
to allow students to become aware of the FTC components and of the relationship between
them.
The accumulation approach to FTC lends itself well to a treatment of the theorem –
and the idea of integral in general – via digital tools. Indeed, from the extensive research
that examined the use of digital tools for learning other concepts of calculus, such as
limit, derivative and integration [8,10,23,24], we conclude that (a) digital tools may enable
students to formulate an in-depth understanding of concepts in calculus and that (b) inter-
acting with multiple-linked representations may assist students in becoming aware of how
those concepts are related to one another. Based on these studies, we assume that using
digital and multiple-linked representation tools may help students become aware of the
relationship between the various components of the FTC.

1.4. Features of the digital tool used in the study

The digital tool used in this study was the Dynamic Accumulation Tool (DAT). Part of
Calculus UnLimited software [25], the DAT was designed and shaped based on pedagog-
ical considerations and culturally accepted mathematical meanings for the derivative and
integral concepts. Although the DAT is not open-source software, it could be easily repli-
cated by open-source software such as GeoGebra or Desmos. The basic feature of the DAT
supports construction and manipulation: the former allows a graph of a function on a
Cartesian system (at the top of the display) to be generated by the free input of a single
variable expression, and an accumulation function graph on a Cartesian system (at the
bottom of the display) and a table of values to be generated using the summation icons; the
latter allows the integral parameters (upper limit, lower limit, and delta x, denoted as x)
to be manipulated using the arrow buttons in the control value box. The manner in which
manipulations are accomplished is determined by the feature of the DAT, and in the sense
that it is mathematically correct. When the learning of integration is organized around the
accumulation function approach, x could be also negative. The sign of the x values is
determined according to the direction the upper limit varies. In the case where the upper
limit is increasing the x is positive, otherwise it is negative [26].
Objects in DAT (Cartesian graphs, table of values, etc.) are considered to be represen-
tations that carry meaning accepted in mathematical culture. Various parts of the DAT are
connected in such a way that any change in one representation is reflected in the others.
In all cases, the mathematical relationships between the objects in the DAT are preserved.
Thus the two linked graphs and the table of values may represent the concept of integration
as accumulation.
We have grouped the various types of representations and tools of the DAT into four
categories.
Graphs: Two coordinated, vertically aligned Cartesian systems. The curve in the upper
Cartesian system represents a function; the curve in the lower system represents a Riemann
6 O. SWIDAN

Figure 1. Interactive accumulation artefact interface.

n
accumulation function i=1 f (a ± ix)xwhen the user chooses rectangle representa-
x
tion by clicking the icon or the accumulation function graph f (u)du when the user
a
chooses continuous area representation by clicking the icon. Displaying the function
and the accumulation function graphs in the same interface may describe the mutual rela-
tionship between the two. Up–down reading of the display represents the mathematical
relationship between a function and its accumulation function; down–up reading repre-
sents the relationship between a function and its derivative, that is, between the rate of
change of the accumulation function and the function values.
Numeric display: The table of values associated with the graphs contains columns
(Figure 1) that represent (a) the upper limit values (end point of the interval), (b) the x
values and (c) the accumulated values.
Accumulation functions: The methods of accumulation are available by clicking the sum-
mation icons shown at the top of display (Figure 1). Because the study focuses on the
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 7

computation of rectangles and on continuous area, the rectangles that appear on request
in the upper Cartesian system represent the product f (xi + x)x; the continuous area

n
represents the limit of the sum of products lim f (xi + x)x.
x→0 i=1
Boundary tool: Three parameters determine the value of the accumulation at a given
point: the lower limit, the upper limit (end points of the intervals) and the width of each
interval (value control box, in Figure 1). Students control the bounded area by using arrows
to move a marker in intervals of x to the left or to the right of the lower limit. Reducing the
x value in the control box is reflected in the rectangle display by reduced width. It is also
reflected in the accumulation functions graph (bringing the discrete points closer to each
other) and in the table of values (approximating the numbers in the sigma to those in the
integral columns). This feature illustrates the convergence of the Riemann accumulation
function to the accumulation function.

1.5. Research question

In this paper, we explore how the features of the DAT support students to become aware
of the mathematical meanings of the FTC. In particular, we set out to answer the following
question:
How do the features of the digital tool (DAT) support students to become aware of the learning
focuses involved in learning the FTC?

2. Method
2.1. Hypothetical learning trajectory for FTC
The hypothetical learning trajectory consists of a learning sequence that includes three
tasks. The tasks were based on the structural decomposition of the FTC, which models the
decomposition of the Riemann integral into its mathematical components [27], and the
decomposition of the derivative concept [28]. Below we present the mathematical com-
ponents involved in the hypothetical learning trajectory, followed by a presentation of the
instructional tasks.

2.1.1. Mathematical components of the hypothetical learning trajectory of the FTC

Table 1 summarizes the mathematical components of the FTC, resulting from decomposi-
tion of the FTC.

2.1.2. Tasks
The learning goal set for the students was to become aware of the mutual relationship
between accumulation and rate of change. We designed three instructional tasks based
on the structural decomposition of the FTC. Table 2 summarizes the sequence of three
meetings and the learning tasks designed for each meeting. Each task addressed a different
component of the FTC.
For each task, the students were given instructions about the functions they are required
to input and the summation icons they should click in order to construct the graph in the
8 O. SWIDAN

Table 1. Mathematical components of the hypothetical learning trajectory of the FTC.

Awareness of Symbolic representation

n
Riemann accumulation function g(x) = f (a + ix)x
i=1

Products x · f (x)

Summation f (x)x
x 
n
Accumulation function F(x) = a g(t)dt = lim f (a + ix)x
x→0 i=1


n
Limit of accumulation function lim f (a + ix)x
x→0 i=1

dF
Rate of change of the accumulation function F(x) is the accumulation function of the function f (x)
dx
Difference F(x + h) − F(x)
F(x + h) − F(x)
Ratio
h
F(x + h) − F(x)
Limit of rate of change function lim
h→0 h

lower Cartesian system. Default values for starting were recommended. For example, the
following instructions were given for the first task.
You should be able to input function expressions (from the functions listed below) and
obtain function graphs such as f (x) = x2 , x2 −9, x3 , (x+3)(x−1)(x+4). To create graphs
in the lower graph window, select the right rectangle option by clicking the icon. While
working on the task, you may use the software to generate function graphs by means of
symbolic expressions, and change the value of “X” by pressing the arrows in the
upper part of the value box [tool for value control], as needed. As a default value, it is
recommended to start with 0.5 in x box, -3 in the lower box, and -3 in the “X” box.

2.2. Participants
This study focused on 22 eleventh-grade students from 2 public schools in Israel. The par-
ticipants were high achievers in mathematics and studied mathematics at the highest level
in their schools. The students worked in pairs, and each pair spent an average of 3.75 h
on the various tasks designed for the study (the total number of hours for the entire set of
participants was 41 h). At the time the meetings took place, the participants had already
learned the concepts of function, derivative and indefinite integral. These concepts had
been taught based on a textbook available to high school students in Israel. The partici-
pants had not previously studied the definite integral or the FTC. They were also familiar
with the conventional function graph software (e.g. GeoGebra), which was part of their
previous study of functions within the framework of the formal school curriculum.

2.3. Procedures
The participants volunteered to participate in three after-school meetings. The learning
took place in the computer lab at the schools. Each pair of students shared one computer.
The author briefly introduced the participants to the user interface and showed them how
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 9

Table 2. Learning tasks and the features DAT.

Learning task DAT features
Your task is to explore and identify the
connections between graphs in the upper
and lower Cartesian systems and the linked
table of values

Your task is to explore and explain how to

make the two graphs in the lower Cartesian
system overlap, and to make the numbers in
the column and the column equal
in each row

Your task is to explore and identify the

relationship between the ways in which the
graphs in the upper and lower Cartesian
systems change.
10 O. SWIDAN

to use it. He explained, for example, how to input the symbolic expression and how to
change the parameters in the value control tool. Subsequently, the author was present as
an observer and provided technical and miscellaneous clarifications. No direct instruction
was given to the students either by a teacher or by the researcher during the three meetings.
Once software functionality was explained, the only prompts or clues given to students
comprised the three tasks described in Table 2. To examine the process of becoming aware
of the FTC, we asked students to complete one task at each meeting. The printed task was
delivered to each pair of students, and verbal instructions explaining the task were given
to students before they started their exploration. After the students started their activity,
only technical questions were answered, for example, how to insert a symbolic expression
of a function.

2.4. Data collection and analysis

We video-recorded all the pairs of students in each session, as they were solving the task,
including the computer screens they were working with. In total, we video-recorded 33
clips, documenting the entire learning process. Average film length is 1 h and 15 min
(mean = 75 min; SD = 10 min).
We analysed the data in two phases. The first phase began with watching the videos
repeatedly, and after transcribing the films, reading the transcripts and the students’ written
work to detect the focuses in the process of becoming aware of the FTC. Next, we wrote
descriptions of each pair’s work. The transcripts and descriptions of all 11 pairs of students
were used to code the students’ explanations of the mathematical relationships involved
in the FTC, based on a structural decomposition of the FTC to detect the mathematical
component used by the students in the learning process of the FTC. The coding process
resulted in a list of focuses. For example, statements of the type: ‘It’s the multiplication
of the height of the rectangle by one half (Figure 2). This explains why this point [initial
accumulated point (Figure 2)] is half of this height [the height of the rectangle]’ were coded
as ‘the product’.
Statements used by the students that did not fit any component of the structural decom-
position were coded by names that describe their practices. The following utterance is an
example: ‘We add negative areas. Here [points at the dark-coloured rectangle, Figure 3]
we start to add positive numbers. It is still negative [point A, Figure 3], but the y-value is
getting bigger. When the positive area becomes equal to the negative area we get zero. That
is, the sum of both areas is zero. After that, the sum of the areas becomes positive’.
In this statement, the students sought to explore the positivity and negativity of the Rie-
mann accumulation function. Therefore, statements of this type were coded as ‘position
of the Riemann accumulation function’. At the end of the coding phase, the collection
of video clips was divided into episodes. Each episode illustrates the students’ attempts
to generate conjectures about the mathematical relationships involved in the FTC. The
episodes were organized into categories based on the focus under consideration. For exam-
ple, episodes concerned with the students’ attempt to ascribe meaning to the second, third
or fourth points in the accumulation function graph were grouped into a category named
‘the sum of products’. Irrelevant video segments were discarded. We considered any con-
versation between paired students that was not related to the mathematical activity under
consideration as irrelevant.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 11

Figure 2. Initial accumulated point.

Figure 3. Coded colour rectangles.

In the second phase, we identified the ways in which students used the DAT to
become aware of the mathematical components under consideration and of the relation-
ship between them. We collected all the episodes belonging to a specific category and
analysed them with reference to the semiotic means involved in each segment. As sug-
gested by Radford [20], we used the basic components of the analytical tool, which are the
students’ progressive attention and awareness of the mathematical object, to analyse the
dynamic evolution toward the mathematical meanings contained in the DAT. We identi-
fied attention as a declaration about the existence of a mathematical relationship between
objects in the DAT. Students’ justifications and interpretations based on mathematical
considerations of relationships they had noticed were defined as awareness. For example,
statement like ‘the lower graph is increasing’ was interpreted as attention to the mathemat-
ical property of an accumulation function. But a statement like ‘it is increasing because
we are always summing up positive products, the function is positive, and x is positive
12 O. SWIDAN

too, so the products are positive’ was interpreted as becoming aware of the mathematical
property of the accumulation function.
In this phase of the analysis, we concentrated especially on the interplay between (a)
the transitions between the multi-representations, (b) actions with DAT and (c) the use of
words in analysing the evolutionary meaning of the FTC.
To reliably identify the focuses involved in learning the FTC, three coders coded the
data independently. Each coder identified 10 focuses. After discussing these focuses, the
coders agreed on the nine focuses that are presented below.

3. Findings
Data analysis revealed nine focuses involved in the process of becoming aware of the FTC.
Table 3 shows the detected focuses, with descriptions of each. The white rows represent
focuses that are included explicitly in the mathematical structure of the FTC; the rows
shaded in grey represent focuses that are not explicitly included.
The focuses revealed in task A, understanding the relationship between the two graphs,
have been discussed in [8]. In this section, we illustrate the students’ interaction with digital
tools as they became aware of the four focuses of the learning trajectory for the FTC that

Table 3. Focuses of the actual learning trajectory.

Task Focus name Description
A I Delta x Delta x while dividing the x-axis into segments
of equal length
II The lower limit as relative zero The lower limit value divides the x-axis of the
upper Cartesian system into two segments:
the delta x value in the right segment of the
lower limit is positive, and the delta x value
in the left segment is negative, similar to the
way 0 divides the real number line into a
positive and negative part
III The product f (x)x The product value represented by the initial
point in the Riemann accumulation function
 and its sign (positive/negative)
IV The sum of products f (x)x The sum of products represented by the points
on the Riemann accumulation function
graph in which the upper limit is bigger
than the lower limit, and points in which the
upper limit is smaller than the lower limit
V The accumulation function properties The domains in which the Riemann accumula-
tion function graph is positive/negative or
increasing/decreasing
B I The differences between the Riemann The reasons for the differences between the
accumulation function and the two graphs
accumulation
II The convergence process of the Riemann The fact that the continuously covered area
accumulation function consists of a rectangle with a very narrow
width, and of whether the sign of the area is
positive or negative
C I The relationship between the change in The change in the areas under a curve that
products and the accumulation function causes the upper limit to vary is the same
rate of change as the rate of change of the accumulation
function
II The relationship between the change in The fact that the function values are the same
products, the function values and the as the rate of change of the accumulation
accumulation function rate of change function
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 13

are mediated by tasks B and C. We choose to present these focuses because they reveal
the students’ actions and interactions with the DAT; they are also revealing central aspects
of the FTC – the accumulation function as a limit of the Riemann accumulation function
and the mutual relationships between the concepts of accumulation and rate of change.
However, the focuses revealed in task A have been discussed already in [8].

3.1. Awareness of the differences between Riemann accumulation functions and

the accumulation function (Focus B-I)
The following excerpt describes the processes of becoming aware of the differences between
the two functions and illustrates the role played by the interactivity of the DAT in verifying
conjectures raised by the students.

1. Mahmoud The y-value of each point in these functions is the area value.
Why are the two graphs different (Figure 4a)? Because the
rectangles do not cover all the area bounded under the
function. The rectangles do not cover this empty part
2. Hamza You’re right. [Presses the icon, and the continuous area is
displayed on the screen (Figure 4b)] You see, this area covers
the entire region under the function

The students paid attention to the fact that the two graphs in the lower system are differ-
ent. To become aware of the differences between the two graphs, they articulated what the
graphs in the lower system represent. Mahmoud’s remark that ‘the y-value of each point
in these functions is the area value’ suggests the use of the focus ‘sum of products’ (A-IV)
to become aware of the differences between the Riemann accumulation function and the
accumulation function (B-I). To become aware of the differences between the two func-
tion graphs, Mahmoud and Hamza concentrated on the complementary regions between

Figure 4. (a,b) The change in the interface as Hamza clicks the icon.
14 O. SWIDAN

the function graph and the upper side of the rectangles. They conjectured that these com-
plementary parts were responsible for the difference between the Riemann accumulation
functions and the accumulation function graphs. To verify their conjecture, they clicked on
the integral icon , after which the continuous area was displayed on the screen and the
complementary parts were filled. These actions appear to have led the students to becom-
ing aware that the complementary parts are responsible for the differences between the two
functions (B-I).

3.2. Awareness of the accumulation function as a limit of the Riemann

accumulation functions (focus B-II)
All the students pointed out that the complementary part of the rectangles had to be some-
how eliminated for the Riemann accumulation function and the accumulation function to
converge. The following excerpt illustrates the role played by the dynamic tools and the
transition between the representations to become aware of the accumulation function as
the limit of the Riemann accumulation functions.
In the following excerpt, Mohand and Moatasim enter the function f (x) = x2 , set the
lower limit to −3 and set x = 0.1. They vary the value of the upper limit to check whether
the two graphs overlap.

3. Mohand [Varies the upper limit parameter] The difference between the
two functions is becoming less (Figure 5b). Before it was 6.8
and now it is 8.5, but the green does not change and it is still 9
[notes the frames in the table of values, Figure 5]
4. Moatasim When we reduced delta x, the empty parts between the
rectangles and the function become smaller. The green
[accumulation function graph] does not change while the red
function [Riemann accumulation function graph] approaches
the green one. Therefore, as we reduce delta x the graphs
should overlap more and more.
5. Mohand It means that the entire area consists of rectangles, but with
very narrow width.

Mohand’s utterance in line 13 suggests using the ‘differences between the Riemann accu-
mulation function’ (B-I) and the accumulation function graph displayed in the artefact
(the green graph) to become aware of the accumulation function as a limit of the Riemann
accumulation functions (B-II). His awareness of the differences between the accumula-
tion functions graphs (B-I) appears to have helped him reduce the x value. Moatasim’s
utterance, ‘we reduce delta x more and more’, and Mohand’s utterance, ‘ . . . consists of
rectangles but with very narrow width’, suggest their use of ‘delta x’ (A-I) to become aware
of the accumulation function as a limit of the Riemann accumulation functions (B-II). To
this end, Mohand varied the upper limit parameter to highlight the effect of reducing the
x value on the accumulation graphs in the lower Cartesian system. The students paid
attention to the fact that the two graphs resemble each other more and more as the x
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 15

Figure 5. The change that occurs in the two graphs as a result of reducing delta x.

parameter is reduced. To justify their conjecture, they switched their attention to the table
of values and compared numerically the values in the sigma columns (with x = 0.1 and
0.5), with the integral columns. The students seem to have become aware that reducing x
causes the complementary part to collapse. The invariance of the accumulation function
graph (the green graph) and the collapsing of the complementary part as x was reduced
made students aware of the fact that the Riemann accumulation function approaches the
accumulation function. Switching between the different representations and tools of the
DAT appears to have helped students become aware of the continuous area as consisting
of rectangles with very narrow widths (B-II).

3.3. Awareness of the rate of change of the accumulation function based on the
change of the continuously covered area (focus C-I)
The following excerpt illustrates the role played by the dynamicity of the DAT and the
transition between the representations to become aware of the rate of change of the
accumulation function. In this focus, the students divided the covered area into chunks,
using the upper limit parameter. With each click on the upper limit parameter, they created
a new chunk. This action appears to have enabled them to notice the relationship between
the change in the continuously covered area and the rate of change of the accumulation
function.
To become aware of the relationship between the change in the area and the rate of
change of the accumulation function, Maram varied the upper limit parameter and con-
centrated on two consecutive values: x = −2.5 and x = −2. She used the table of values to
evaluate the accumulation value at x = −2.5 and at x = −2. She compared the accumu-
lated value in interval (−2.5, −2) with that in interval (−3, −2.5). Maram paid attention
to the fact that the accumulated value in the second interval was less than that in the first
interval. She ascribed this finding to the second chunk of area displayed on the screen,
16 O. SWIDAN

Figure 6. The accumulation function of the function x 2 + 1. (a–c) Students use the upper limit value to
connect the continuously covered area to the rate of change of the accumulation function.

Figure 7. The function x 2 and its accumulation function. Students connected the derivatives of the
accumulation function with the function values while focusing on the extreme point in the function
graph.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 17

6. Maram [Figure 6(a) appears on the screen, she clicks the upper limit
icon, Figure 6(b) appears on the screen] The y-value is about 4
[reads from the table of values]. [Clicks the upper limit again] It
is about 7 [reads from the table of values], it has added 3. The
value, when added, is less because the new chunk is smaller
than the first one. The third chunk is less and the fourth is less.
It is increasing but at a decreasing rate.

which was smaller than the first chunk. She continued to evaluate the values of the chunks
of areas without creating them with the DAT, which appeared to enable her to become
aware of the relationship between the change in the areas and the rate of change of the
accumulation function ‘at a decreasing rate’ [6].

3.4. Awareness of the relationship between the function values and the rate of
change of the accumulation function (focus C-II)
In this focus, the students become aware of the relationship between the function values
and the rate of change of the accumulation function. The correlation of the extreme point in
the function graph with the inflection point in the accumulation function graph attracted
the students’ attention

7. Mohamed [Figure 7 appears on the screen] The extreme point in the

function is an inflection point in the lower function. The slope
of this inflection point is zero since there are no areas around
the extreme point. We add zeros to the last area, so the entire
area is still the same around the extreme point.
8. Ahmed The slope is zero because the upper function is zero at this
point. The values of the upper function are decreasing and the
slope of the lower function is decreasing also, up to the
inflection point, after which the y-value is increasing and the
slope of the lower function is increasing. It is the same as the
areas. It is decreasing around the origin, no area there, but after
the origin, the area is increasing.
9. Mohamed It is the same, never mind which approach you take. Both give
the same result. Whether the function values or the area, both
are behaving in the same way.

To become aware of the relationship between the function values and the rate of change
of the accumulation function (C-II), Mohamed and Ahmed switched frequently between
the upper and lower Cartesian systems. Mohamed, who was focusing on the lower Carte-
sian system, declared that the tangent slope of the inflection point was zero. He attributed
this to the areas that should be added around the extreme point. Mohamed’s utterance ‘the
18 O. SWIDAN

slope of this inflection point is zero since there are no areas around the extreme point’ sug-
gests that he referred to the relationship between the changes of the areas and the rate of
change of the accumulation function (C-I). The latter appears to have helped him explain
the correspondence of the extreme point with the inflection point. Ahmed started from a
different point of departure to ascribe meaning to the tangent slope of the accumulation
function graph. He noted the correspondence of the zero slope of the inflection point in
the accumulation function graph with the zero value of the function graph. The distinc-
tion Ahmed made seems to have helped him connect the function values with the rate of
change of the accumulation function: ‘the values of the upper function are decreasing and
the slope of the lower function is decreasing also’ with ‘after which the y-value is increas-
ing and the slope of the lower function is increasing’. His utterance ‘it is the same as the
areas’ suggests that he made the connection between the function values, the change of the
areas and the rate of change of the accumulation function. In line 9, Mohamed agreed with
Ahmed’s determination about the mutual relationship between the concepts of accumula-
tion and rate of change. Moreover, their utterances suggest that they almost realized that
the original function can be read for information about the rate of change.

4. Discussion
This study is part of the general interest in constructing learning trajectories for com-
plex mathematical topics and recent cognitive theories highlighting the role of perceptual
actions in shaping the students’ mind in the background. The study considered how a learn-
ing trajectory for the FTC may be constructed in the context of digital tools and examined
the students’ interaction with these tools. Taking the theory of knowledge objectification,
which considers learning as processes of becoming aware of the mathematical knowledge
deposited in educational artefacts, as a basic theoretical framework, we proposed a hypo-
thetical learning trajectory for the FTC based on the mathematical structure of the FTC
and on tasks that take advantage of the features of an interactive, dynamic and multiple-
linked representational tools. Our challenge was to design tasks that caught the students’
attention and increased their awareness of the mathematical components of the FTC and
of the relationship between them.
Regardless of which definition of a learning trajectory one chooses, students’ thinking is
always an integral part of the learning trajectory [12,14,15,16]. The difference, however, is
in the manner in which thinking is defined. The theoretical framework we adopted in this
study also ascribes to actions and interactions with artefact an essential role in thinking.
We therefore argue that actions and interactions with the artefacts should be part of the
learning trajectory when mathematical topics are learned using educational digital tools.
For this reason, we will devote this section to discuss the students’ interaction with the
digital tools and its role in becoming aware to the focuses of learning that constitute the
learning trajectory.
Exploring the ways in which students become aware of the various focuses of the actual
learning trajectory of the FTC has shed light on the role of dynamic parameters and of
the digital tools in the process. Thompson and Silverman [11] maintained that the FTC
involved many dynamic parameters that students must recognize in order to understand
the theorem. Our study recognized the dynamic role of these parameters in allowing stu-
dents to engage in the various focuses involved in becoming aware of the FTC. Our analysis
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 19

shows that the dynamics of the parameters represented in the digital tool enabled students
to become aware of various components of the FTC, and the relationship between them,
and to pay attention to the moving objects on the screen. Most of the time, paying attention
to the object on the screen and to the feedback from the digital tool enabled students to
become aware of the mathematical components involved in the FTC.
In addition to the central role played by the dynamic parameters, the interactivity of
the table of values and its linkage with the other representations also affected the processes
of becoming aware of the FTC components. The interactivity and the linkage helped stu-
dents pay attention to each value in the table by clicking the value under consideration, and
endow it with meaning. For example, clicking the accumulated value of zero in the table of
values makes the rectangles in the upper Cartesian system disappear, and the marked point
in the accumulation function becomes anchored to the x-axis. This action helped students
conjecture that the relationship that links the representations is the area of the rectangles.
Using the dynamic tools, students were able to verify or refute conjectures they raised.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the combined interactions with the artefact
helped make the meaning of the FTC components emerge.
The implications of this study go beyond the narrow task of proposing a certain learn-
ing trajectory for the FTC. The literature on learning trajectories in general has focused
extensively on learning from the radical constructivism and realistic mathematics edu-
cation points of view. Our study adds to that body of literature by suggesting ways of
constructing and investigating learning trajectories from the point of view of recent cog-
nitive theories that which assign a central role to interaction with an educational digital
artefact in shaping our mind. We showed that interactive, multiple-linked representa-
tion artefacts can play an important role in learning the FTC, and we identified the role
played by its features in the learning processes. In this way, our work may shed light on
the construction of learning trajectories for other concepts in mathematics using dynamic
and interactive artefacts. Thus the study can guide other researchers in using educa-
tional digital artefacts to design learning trajectories for other complex mathematical
topics.
In sum, then, our study contributes to the literature on learning calculus by following
the learning process through a designed learning trajectory, as students learn in a real-life
setting [29]. The study contributes theoretical understanding of the role played by educa-
tional digital artefacts in learning the FTC, and at the same time, it is also intended to serve
teachers in planning their instruction. Becoming aware of the detected focuses identified in
this study can assist teachers in planning learning tasks that support smooth transitions in
the course of the learning trajectory, not by moving through the curriculum but by helping
students advance through detecting focuses and overcoming complexities. We hope that
this study could serve researchers in constructing and investigating additional learning tra-
jectories for topics in calculus. We believe that designing actual learning trajectories and
identifying learning focuses assist the effort to improve the practice of teaching calculus.
That said, using a learning trajectory as a learning tool and applying it in a real edu-
cational setting require further clarification and research. This paper was able to identify
the learning focuses involved in learning the FTC by observing 11 pairs high-achieving
students. The special characteristics of these students, described above, were essential for
this purpose; however, this also constitutes one of the limitations of the study. Because
these students form a select group, we cannot claim that the learning trajectory proposed
20 O. SWIDAN

in this paper is appropriate for all students. Further research is needed with students with
varying levels of mathematics achievement, to construct additional learning trajectories
for calculus and to examine the manner in which they help improve teaching practices.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID
Osama Swidan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2689-7173

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