Mathematical, Technical, and Pedagogical Challenges in the Graphical Representation of Functions. [Final] Technical Report 88-4.

This report summarizes the work of a two-year project which focused primarily on the problems that students have with algebra in general, and graphs in particular. The first of two major sections in the document deals with the use of computer software to assist in the teaching of graphing. It concludes that thoughtful design and use of graphing software presents new opportunities for teaching about graphing. The next section of the report centers on the development of research instruments that are intended to study scale in the context of graphs of function. It includes a set of problem-based teaching materials that were used as research tools. The appendices contain descriptions of probes designed to see if students can interpret and create graphs of real-world phenomena, along with instruments dealing with mapping, scale, and computer explorations. (TW)