Adaptation of the GTERP Mathematics Teaching-Learning-Assessment Methodology to teach Differential and Integral Calculus through Problem Solving

Abstract

The Methodology of Mathematics Teaching-Learning-Assessment through Problem Solving is a didactic strategy in which the student takes up an active role and is more committed to his / her learning, while the teacher is the mediator of the teaching and learning process. In Brazil, the Working and Study Group on Problem Solving (GTERP) is a research group developing school-environment related research and, for that, there is a script guiding teachers on how the above-mentioned methodology should be implemented. Such script’s third version consists of ten activities and can be employed at any level of education. However, when adopted to teach Differential and Integral Calculus contents in Higher Education, some adjustments had to be made to enable teaching through problem solving as well as fulfilling the course’s teaching plan while respecting the academic calendar. This work is a part of a doctoral research that aimed to develop strategies to insert the Problem-Solving Teaching-Learning-Assessment Methodology to teach contents of Differential and Integral Calculus in the regular class schedule. The objective of this text is to exemplify how, in practice, the Problem-Solving Methodology was implemented based on the GTERP’s script.  To do so, we will present and report on an innovative proposal to address a formal limit definition. Finally, we will compare the GTERP’s script against what was actually applied. The adaptations on such script met our needs and we believe to have preserved the essence of what a class aiming to teach through Problem Solving should be.