Learning Difficulties with the Concept of Function in Maths: A Literature Review

Abstract

The concept of function is a threshold concept in mathematics since it is essential for a deep understanding of the subject and is often problematic for students. Despite the importance of this concept, numerous studies have found that students have several difficulties and misconceptions about it. This work aims to assess, classify and synthesize the existing information about the learning difficulties and misconceptions related to the concept of function. In this sense, the main achievement of the work is the synthesis and classification by topics of the information gathered from the literature.

Keywords

• concept of function
• mathematics teaching and learning
• learning difficulties
• function representation