Abstract:
Most students do not have an idea of the concept of the limit of a function because it is very abstract and difficult to understand. The present work addresses the importance of introducing the concept of a function limit by the graphical method using the computer. To this end, the current ways of introducing the concept in Mozambican secondary schools were studied, starting with the analysis of the curricular content on the limits of the 12th grade mathematics program and comparing this information with information obtained from the analysis of the notebooks of some students and the questionnaires filled out by some teachers from certain Mozambican secondary schools in the city of Maputo. This triangulation of information made it possible to discover which alternatives for introducing the concept of the limit of a function are used in these schools and, therefore, it appeared that the graphic method should deserve greater attention and so it was decided to elaborate a lesson plan in which the The concept of a function limit will be introduced using this method with the help of a computer, with the aim of teaching the student to read function limits on the graph and improve learning. The implementation of the lesson plan showed that students were very enthusiastic about wanting to learn limits through the computer. Throughout the class it was observed that this curiosity focused more on learning the syntax of the computer program (how to define the analytical expressions of the given functions on the computer and obtain the respective graphs) than on learning to read the limits on the graphs displayed. However, the sequence of activities recommended in the lesson plan, which the students had to carry out, allowed them to do all the activities recommended in the lesson cloth, which the students had to carry out, allowed them to do all the activities planned and then carry out those that they were his initiative, which would not be possible without the aid of a computer. After class, nine students of the same level of education were interviewed, four of whom participated in the experimental class and five, from another secondary school, did not participate. The result of the analysis of the interviews showed that there was no evidence of improvement in learning the concept of limit of a function in relation to students who did not participate in the experimental class.(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)
