Generalising calculus ideas from two dimensions to three: how multivariable calculus students think about domain and range

Abstract

We analysed multivariable calculus students' meanings for domain and range and their generalisation of that meaning as they reasoned about the domain and range of multivariable functions. We found that students' thinking about domain and range fell into three broad categories: input/output, independence/dependence, and/or as attached to specific variables. We used Ellis' actor-oriented generalisations framework to characterise how students generalised their meanings for domain and range from single-variable to multivariable functions. This framework focuses on the process of generalisation – what students see as similar between ideas in multiple contexts. We found that students generalised their meanings for domain and range by relating objects, extending their meanings, using general principles and rules, and using/modifying previous ideas. Our findings suggest that the domain and range of multivariable functions is a topic instructors should explicitly address.

Keywords:

• calculus
• functions
• generalisation