OC

N AT I O N A L C O U N C F L O F
T E A C H I R 5 O F M AT H E M AT I C S

NCTM

Intuitive Functional Concepts: A Baseline Study on Intuitions

Author(s): Tommy Dreyfus and Theodore Eisenberg
Source: Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 13, No. 5 (Nov., 1982), pp. 360-380 Published by:
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Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

1982, Vol. 13, No. 5, 360-380

INTUITIVE FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS:

A BASELINE STUDY ON INTUITIONS
TOMMY DREYFUS

THEODORE EISENBERG

Center for Technological

Education Holon, Israel
Ben Gurion University of the

Negev Beer
Sheva, Israel

Since even the great mathematicians think intuitively, we

must all be sure that the intuitive meaning of each
mathematical idea or procedure is made intuitively clear to the
student (Kline, 1971, p. 19).
The citation above is one of the principles of a new approach
to the curriculum proposed by Kline. Intuitions may not be
as central to mathematics teaching as Kline states, but
recently other researchers have carefully studied them and
stress their importance for efficient teaching. Fischbein
(1973)
, for one, has come to the conclusion that in
order [to] not stifle the mathematical reasoning
process, it is absolutely essential to encourage the use
of such intuitive support (p. 222).
Background

Intuition
For the purpose of this study, Fischbein will be followed in
so far as the term intuitions is taken to refer to mental
representations of facts that appear self-evident. For
example, to most junior high school students, the following
statements appear self-evident:
1.
2.

The whole is equal to the sum of its parts and is

greater than any one of them.
For all real numbers a, b, c, if a > b and b > c, then a
> c.

On the other hand, the following statements do not appear

self-evident, even to most college students:
1.
2.

There are as many points in a line of length I as

there are in a line of length 21.
The graphs of two quadratic equations can intersect
in more than four

This study was administered through the Department of Science

Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.

Portions of this research were reported at the International Congress

on the Psychology of Mathematical Education, Grenoble, France, July
1981.

points. (The points (-1,6), (3, -2), (1,1), (0,4), and (2,0) satisfy both 2x2- y2 xy - 4x + 4y = 0 and 6x2 - y2 + xy - 16x + 2y + 8 =0 [Charosh, 1965].)
3.An object can have infinite surface area but finite volume.
The notion of intuition above cannot be defined in a way allowing for a
final decision on whether a given statement is intuitive or not because
intuitions are the result of personal experience (Fischbein, Tirosh &
Melamed, 1981). But through appropriate activities, intuitions can be
trained. As Feller (1957) has stated, Certainly intuition can be trained . . .
mathematical intuition grows with experience, and it is possible to develop
a mathematical feeling for concepts such as four dimensional space (p. 2).
Intuitions therefore stand in twofold relation to the teaching process. On
the one hand, enlarging the base for our intuitions is a primary goal of
education. Indeed, the famous Socratic dialogue between Meno and the
slave boy exemplifies how teaching can be built on intuitive support (Jones,
1967). But on the other hand, the teaching process should be based on the
intuitive knowledge of the learner, especially at the stage when a new topic
is approached. This study aimed to assess the intuitive background of
junior high school pupils as they developed the concept of function.
The Function Concept
The function concept is one of the most central topics in mathematics
today. Historians have shown that its introduction in the 17th century had
an exceedingly beneficial effect on the development of mathematics (Boyer,
1946). The reason for this may be found in its unifying nature. For
example, in many school curricula the function concept ties algebra,
trigonometry, and geometry together. More than that, it appears and
reappears like a thread throughout school mathematics from grade 1 (e.g.,
addition as a function from IR x IR to IR) to grade 12 (e.g., calculus).
The function concept is a complex one. There are several reasons for this:
1.

2.

3.

It is not a single concept by itself but has a considerable number of

subconcepts associated with it. Examples are domain, preimage,
variable, extremum, and growth. These will be called functional
concepts in the sequel. No function can be given without some
functional concepts (e.g., domain, image).
The function concept can be used to tie together seemingly
unrelated subjects, for example, geometry and algebra, as has been
so aptly shown by Fehr (1951). This tying together is part of the
process of abstraction achieved by using functions. The levels of
abstraction are connected to the functions fine structurethe
number of variables, type of domain and range (finite, discrete,
continuous), type of definition (explicit, implicit, or recursive), and
so forth.
The same function may be represented in a number of different
settings (e.g., as a table, arrow diagram, graph, formula, or by
verbal description).

November 1982
361
These aspects are major contributors to difficulties pupils encounter

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when learning the function concept, typically in Grade 9 (Thomas, 1975;

Dorofeev, 1978). Actually, pupils will have already encountered many
functions, some of quite elaborate structure, prior to their official introduction to the concept (e.g., addition, as pointed out above). It is therefore
of particular importance that the function concept, when approached formally for the first time, be taught in such a manner as to take fully into
account the intuitive background of the learner. The curriculum developer
and the teacher should be conscious of the intuitive support on which they
may build. They should have detailed information about such support, since
some concepts may be intuitive to most students when the function is
presented in one setting but not in another setting. It may be asked whether
concepts such as growth or extrema are more easily understood if the
function is presented in a graphical setting rather than in a table. And if so,
how high a price is paid by presenting each concept in its most appropriate,
most intuitive setting? The first of these two questions, and related ones,
were studied in this work.
Transfer of Learning
Transfer of learning is one of the broad underlying goals of educational
programs, particularly mathematics education programs (Bruner, 1960).
Educational theorists distinguish between two types of transfer of learning,
vertical transfer and horizontal transfer (Gagne, 1970). Vertical transfer is
going beyond the information given but remaining in a particular setting.
For example, a student who knows that a zero of a function/(JC) of one
variable is a number jc such that/(jc) = 0 and who is able to describe zeros of
a function of three variables is making a vertical transfer. Vertical transfer
contains components of generalization and abstraction. Horizontal transfer,
on the other hand, is the process of taking a concept from one setting and
applying the same concept in a different setting; for example, discerning
that a function given as a table is one-to-one after having been presented
with the concept of one-to-one only in a graph setting. It is expected that an
intuitively supported understanding of a concept promotes both types of
transfer. In fact, Fischbeins (1973) terminology on types of intuition
suggests this: Horizontal transfer builds on intuitions of adhesion, whereas
vertical transfer builds on intuitions of anticipation.
The Literature in Brief
Intuition and transfer of learning. The role intuitions play in developing a
true understanding of mathematics cannot be overemphasized. Polya
(1957), Wilder (1965), Suppes (1966), Fischbein (1978), and Hilton (1980)
have all made statements to this effect.
Researchers have been studying many different aspects of transfer of
learning: from the transfer of broad knowledge and attributes in the cognitive and affective domains (Haslerud & Meyers, 1958; Kelly, 1967) to the
362 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
transfer of specific knowledge and skills (Carter, 1969; Holding, 1962;
Smith, 1972). With respect to science and mathematics education it has
been shown by Carter (1969) and Smith (1972) that two situations must be

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sufficiently close for transfer to occur between them. We, as teachers, want
students to see interrelationships and parallel forms of the concepts we
teach; to date, the best we have been able to do to encourage such transfer
is to worry about the sequencing of the material leading up to the task we
want to teach (Gagne, 1970). It may be hoped that material built with a
consideration of intuitive support will encourage such transfer of learning.
Functions. Buck (1970) has given a rather complete review of the
function concept as it applies to school curricula and of many of its
subconcepts, settings, and levels. Although he makes a number of
suggestions about where and how the function concept should be used in
the curriculum, he does not point to any research on how to teach functions
nor suggest in what setting the abstract concept of a function should be
introduced (except for a warning not to introduce it as a set of ordered
pairs). Also, he states that the intuitive understanding which is acquired
by working with numerous examples provides an ample and satisfying
basis, upon which to build. . . However, this is a specific matter that should
be studied on its own (p. 256).
There is no consensus among textbook authors on how to introduce the
subject. For example, Dolciani, Berman and Freilich (1962) introduce the
definition of a function in a graphical setting; Kline, Oesterle, and Willson
(1959) do it as sets of ordered pairs of real numbers, and Freund (1975)
uses an arrow diagram approach.
Learner difficulties with specific aspects of the concept of function have
been analysed by Nicholas (1966), Hight (1968), Dreyfus and Eisenberg
(1980)
, and Wagner (1981). Students often do not understand the
concept of variable and the fix) notation (e.g., they may not
understand the distinction between fia) and finding the values of x
for which fix) = a). At a higher level, they may not understand how
the graph of a discontinuous function can appear as though it were
continuous or how restricting the domain can turn a nonperiodic
function into a periodic one. Thomas (1969, 1975) and Smith (1972)
have shown that relatively young children of high ability can
master many aspects of the function concept. Both, using SSMCIS
materials (Fehr & Fey, 1969), concluded that many 11-to-14- yearold children can understand the concept at the formal operations
stage. They were very careful in stating generalizations, however,
because of the high-ability level of their subjects. Orton (1970; see
also Lovell, 1971) examined the growth of the function concept
among 12-to-17-year-old students of medium to high ability. With a
few exceptions (mainly concerning the composition of two
functions) his findings agreed with the stages of acquisition
suggested by Thomas.
Although Thomas and Orton used Piagets developmental theory as a
basis for the description of the growth of the function concept, Suarez
November 1982
363
(1977) used the development of the function concept to illustrate the inade-

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quacy of Piagets theory for describing the complex process of the development of thinking patterns. Suarez traced the development of the function
concept from the first notions of proportionality in elementary school children over inverse proportionality and quadratic functions to the use of
functional thinking in problem solving by university students. He
concluded that learners have to acquire many cognitive structures before
they can grasp functionality and that these structures are most likely to be
acquired when they appear in functional relationships occurring in physical
experiments.
Karplus (Note 1) came to similar conclusions when studying functional
reasoning patterns in secondary school pupils. He found that most pupils
answer in a mechanical or algorithmic way and that functional reasoning is
an independent reasoning pattern whose relation to formal thought is not
obvious.
The Function Block
The study of functions can be arranged in a three-dimensional block type
of structure in which the x-dimension carries the various settings (arrow
diagrams, tables, graphs, etc.), the y-dimension the function concepts (image, zeros, equality, etc.), and the z-dimension a taxonomic scale of levels of
abstraction and generalization (one, two, or several variables, discrete domain, etc.). The z-axis in itself is multidimensional. These dimensions have
been grouped onto a single axis because of their minor importance for the
present study. The function block is represented in Figure 1, together with a
list of terms for the respective dimensions. The block is open ended in all
three dimensions because there is, in principle, no limit to the number of
settings, concepts, and levels of generalization and abstraction associated
with the function concept.
Horizontal transfer of learning (transfer of a concept learned in one
setting to another setting) now appears as movement parallel to the jc-axis
of the function block, whereas vertical transfer of learning (transfer to
levels of greater generality) appears as movement parallel to the z-axis.
Progress parallel to the y-axis of the block corresponds to the learning of
new concepts and therefore cannot in general be expected to occur without
an external stimulus.
The function block provides a framework to guide asking questions concerning the ordering, arrangement, and presentation of function curricula.
To begin with a simple example, one would like to find the most ideal cell to
enter into the function block for an initial teaching of the function concept.
One would also like to know whether transfers of learning are more enhanced by progressing along the y-direction in a particular setting or by
soliciting the transfers by teaching each concept in several settings, which
then facilitates transfer to other settings.
364 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
Image of an element

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Settings
x-axis

Concepts
y-axis

Levels
z-axis
Domain (D) range (R) finite D R
bounded intervals of R D countable,
R finite

(,) ordered pairs

arrow diagram
graph
f(x) algebraic rule
J table

Image of a set
Preimage of an element
Preimage of a set

Zero
Domain
Extremum

One independent variable: f(x)

Two independent variables: f(x,y)
Increase
Composition (of functions) Inverse functions

Explicit function
Implicit function
Recursive function

Figure 1. The function block.

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As illustrated above, mathematical maturity and other factors influence

ones mathematical intuition and patterns of thought. The answer to many
of the questions asked within the function block framework may well
depend on the mathematical background and ability of the population
considered. It is therefore of interest to ask whether different ability groups
elicit the same learning sequences; indeed, this is the way most curriculum
materials are written. Students of low ability (when studying the same
material as students of high ability) usually receive the same program of
instruction as students of high ability but at a lower conceptual level.
Implicit therein is the assumptionall students learn the same way and bring
to a lesson the same intuitions. This, however, is not the case with
November 1982

mathematics in general (Krutetski, 1976; Rubinstein, 1975) and may not be

the case with functions in particular. It thus appears that there is a need to
assess first the basic intuitions and experiences various student populations
have with functions and then how these can be drawn on for maximal
transfer of learning. Such an assessment of intuitions has been undertaken
and will be described in the following pages.
Hypotheses
On the basis of the theory described above, the following four hypotheses
were formulated:
HI: Intuitions on functional concepts grow with pupils progress through
the grades.
H2: Intuitions are independent of sex.
H3: Intuitions of high-level students are more often correct than those of
low-level students.
H4: Intuitions are more often correct in concrete situations than in
abstract ones.
The hypotheses above were tested by means of questionnaire booklets on
several functional concepts in various settings and on two levels according
to the function block paradigm.
Method

Questionnaire Booklets
Three questionnaire booklets were constructed in which questions were
asked on the concepts of image, preimage, growth, extrema, and slope. The
three booklets contained the same functional relationships and were identical except for the settings in which the functional relationships were
presentedeither in a diagram, a graph, or a table setting. Two functions
were presented in each booklet, one concrete, giving a pedestrian meaning
to the relationship, and the other abstract, removing this pedestrian meaning. An example of a concrete functional relationship from a discrete
domain into a discrete range might be temperature readings taken at
specific times during a given day. This example was used in a previous
study (Dreyfus & Eisenberg, Note 2). But it has the drawback that both

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variables, time and temperature, are intrinsically continuous. In order to

avoid this drawback, another example, the number of books taken out of a
school library on consecutive days, was chosen for the present study. The
abstraction simply listed a similar function as a relationship between two
sets, A and B. In order to ensure that both functions have analogous
properties, the graph of the abstract function was constructed from the
concrete one by a reflection and
366 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education rescaling. The concrete
and abstract situations were considered to be meaningfully different. In the
concrete situation, the students had a background setting for the function.
In the abstract setting this was not the case. Wagner
(1981)
has shown what students perceive when manipulating
symbols void of meaning.
Sample questions for various concepts and settings at both levels are
presented in Figure 2.
The booklets consisted of 42 multiple-choice questions. There were 5
image, 5 preimage, and 5 extrema questions presented about both the
concrete and the abstract functions; 5 growth questions presented only
about the concrete function; and 7 slope questions, 5 about the concrete
function and 2 about the abstract function. In 17 of the 42 questions one of
the response choices was none of the above or a similarly worded statement. For 9 questions this choice was the correct one. The questions were
submitted to a panel of five high school and college teachers of mathematics
who were asked to classify them according to the concepts they concerned.
All questions included in the booklets were correctly classified by at least
four of the teachers, providing external validity for the questionnaire booklet itself. (Originally, there were 10 questions per concept, 5 on the abstract
function and 5 on the concrete function. All of the abstract growth
questions and 3 of the abstract slope questions were removed from the test
because they did not pass the validity check.)
Reliability coefficients have been estimated according to the KR20 formula for the full test as well as for the concrete and abstract subtests. The
reliability estimate obtained for the full test was 0.91; those for the subtests
were 0.86 and 0.81, respectively.
Population
Each student in Israel is labeled by the Ministry of Education as to
whether he is socially disadvantaged or not. This labeling is based on a
socioeconomic formula that takes into account a variety of factors in the
childs environment. Each school then receives a rating giving the total
percentage of socially disadvantaged children in the school. These figures
are public, but specific information about individual children is generally
not available, even to researchers.
All junior high schools (Grades 7-9) and some primary schools as well
stream their pupils in mathematics (and in selected other subjects) into an
A, B, or C ability group. For instance, a student in the A-stream of a school
with 80% socially disadvantaged students would not necessarily be
classified as such in a school with a 30% socially disadvantaged student

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body. On the other hand, in a school with 30 % socially disadvantaged

children overall, the C ability group may well contain as many as 70%
socially disadvantaged students and the A level group correspondingly less
(Israeli & Herschkowitz, Note 3). Because the social and ability levels are
thus interrelated, a construct variable named Absolv (ability-social-level)
was formed,
November 1982

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367

Graph

Graph
10 II 12

L............1.

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Terms
and
Condit
ions

What is the smallest number in set B which is associated

with one of the numbers between 10 and 14 in set A?
a.
7 b. 10 c.
d.
another number.

D
A

S
E

TE
MB
ER

Growth Question

T
W

books did the pupils take on loan from

on September 14?
19
9
14
impossible to determine from the data
given.
6

The number of books taken from the library between September

16 and September 19
a.
increasedeach
day
b.
decreasedeach
day
c.
increasedeachdaybut
one
d.
decreasedeachdaybut
one
e.
none of the above answers a, b, c, d is correct.
Table

Image Question
How many
the library
a.
b.
c.
d.

Extremum Question

56

789

8
10

9 10
11

10
11
12
0

10

II

12

13

IS IT

19

20

21

1
2
7

1
3
1
3

1
4
9

15
16
7
4

1
7
2

Preimage Question
The list of numbers in set A to which there corresponds
the number 7 in set B is:
a.
12
b.
2
c.
12, 13, 14, 15
d.
12, 15.

Figure 2. Sample questions in the three settings.

9

13

and each class was assigned as being of high or of low Absolv. High Absolv
was defined as A ability level in schools with less than 80 % socially
disadvantaged, B ability level in schools with less than 50% socially
disadvantaged, or C ability level in schools with less than 20% socially
disadvantaged. See Figure 3 for a graphical representation of this definition.

Figure 3. Definition of Absolv (ability and social level).

The questionnaires were distributed in 24 classes of pupils chosen from

Grades 6 through 9 in 12 different schools. The schools and classes were
chosen so as to ensure a homogeneous distribution over all grades and
Absolv. The three versions of the questionnaire, with diagrams (D), graphs
(G), or tables (T), were randomly distributed to the pupils within each class,
thereby guarding against a bias for a particular setting in a particular class.
All participating classes were coeducational, guarding against a bias with
respect to sex and ensuring the independence of this variable from the
others. In summary, each pupil was assigned four characteristics, Grade (6,
7, 8, or 9), Absolv (high or low), Setting (D,G, or T), and Sex (F or M). Note
that Grade and Absolv are constant for any class, whereas Setting and Sex
are individual.
Administration
The questionnaires were administered by the mathematics teachers during a regular classroom period. The pupils were told that the questionnaire
was not an examination, but was instead a check of their understanding of
certain mathematical processes, which they had not necessarily learned yet.
The questionnaires were administered at the beginning of the school year
when none of the classes had yet studied the concept of function. Pupils in
Grades 8 and 9, however, had studied a unit on uses of Cartesian coordinate
systems in Grade 7.
November 1982
369
Most pupils completed the questionnaire within 45 minutes. To ensure
that only those pupils who took the questionnaire seriously were included in

the final analysis, a 90 % completion rate was arbitrarily set. Thus, 443
pupils constituted the sample. Their distribution according to Grade,
Absolv, Setting, and Sex is presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Population Distribution
DFG/
TM
Absolv

Grade 6

Total

1 29
28
82
128
1
/
25
/
90
/
27
23
10 19
84
128
01
31
22
36
13
18
26
62
93
14
17
Low
26
/
/
/
/
60
/
40
13
12
19
13 22
65
94
28
12
83
14
52
83
37
46
55
221
28
32
154
Total
59
/
/
/
/
/
59
87
52
39
42
3 41
140
222
1 and Absolv who have1answered the diagram
9 (D), graph
Note. Each entry in the table gives the number of pupils of a particular Grade
High

30
33
31

47

/
47

23
20
20
9
9
8
32
29
28

24

/
39

14

(G), or table (T) version of the questionnaire and those who are female (F) or male (M) in this format: D F
G/
TM

Analysis
This study had the character of an assessment being made at a given time
and was not related directly to any teaching or learning process nor to any
other interaction between teacher and class. Consequently, the unit of
analysis for the study had to be the single pupil and not the class. The
intuitions of the pupils on functional concepts as measured by their achievement on the questionnaire were analyzed as to how they depend on the four
independent variables discussed above: Grade, Absolv, Setting, and Sex.
This was done by means of a four-way analysis of variance, the dependent
variable being the mean score for the performance on the total test. This
mean score was measured in percent and called AV (average). Table 2 shows
that the characteristic variables collectively accounted for more than 51 %
of the variance in the total test scores. With the exception of the Sex
variable, each of the characteristic variables was a statistically significant
contributor ( a = .05) to the total test variance. The significant interactions
were Grade x Absolv, Absolv x Sex, and Grade x Absolv x Sex.
To examine whether the variance explained by the model could be attributed to particular parts of the questionnaire, similar analyses were performed on the concrete and abstract parts of the test booklet, as well as on
each of the five concepts separately. The parts of the variance accounted for
in the subtests by the four main effects and their interactions ranged from
34% on the extrema subtest to 50% on the concrete subtest.
370 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
Before proceeding with the analysis of the findings, one must bear in
mind that the questionnaire measured only selected topics exhibited by
means of a single function. Reliability of the findings is strengthened
because the function in the abstract setting was constructed from the

function in the concrete setting. The extent to which the findings can be
generalized to other types of functions is itself a subject for further study.
Table 2
Source Table for Four-Way ANOVA: Average by Grade x Absolv x Setting x Sex
Dependent variable: AV
Source DF Model 47 Error
395 Corr. total 442
Source
Grade
Absolv
Grade x Absolv
Setting
Grade x Setting
Absolv x Setting
Grade x Absolv x Setting
Sex
Grade x Sex
Absolv x Sex
Grade x Absolv x Sex
Setting x Sex
Grade x Setting x Sex
Absolv x Setting x Sex
Grade x Absolv x Setting x Sex

SS
10.
6
10.
1
20.

F
8.
8
3

Pr > F
0.0001

AV-

D
F
3
1
3

SS (Type 1)

2
6
2
6
1
3
1
3
2
6
2
6

0.26
0.03

3.48
4.43
1.17

0.03
0.07
0.00
0.15
0.22
0.23
0.08
0.20
0.14
0.15

45.26
172.82
15.26
5.04
0.21
0.64
0.48
0.00
1.92
8.69
2.94
1.48
1.33
2.81
0.95

R2
M
ea
n
S
D

= 0.51 =
0.59 =
0.16
Pr > F
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0069
0.9733
0.5257
0.8205
0.9923
0.1247
0.0034
0.0327
0.2297
0.2438
0.0613
0.4566

Results

The significant contributions of each one of the variables and

interactions in the model to the variance of the mean scores will now be
discussed in some detail. In this connection, one must remember that the
number of pupils in the study was rather large and that it is relatively easy
to obtain statistically significant differences with large ns. What is
important here is not whether these differences are statistically significant
but rather whether they are educationally significant (Begle, 1972). It is
assumed in the ensuing discussion that statistical significance is a necessary
but not a sufficient condition for educational significance.
The Effects of Grade and Ability and Social Level
Absolv, the ability and social level variable, had a strong effect on the
overall mean scores, as may be seen from Table 2. The same is true of the
November 1982
371
Grade variable. Figure 4 displays the overall mean scores as a function of
Grade. One sees a general increase, but a decrease from the 7th to the 8th
grade. This decrease was significant (a = .05).The pattern becomes clearer
when partitioning the population with respect to Absolv and Grade (see
Figure 5) and considering the interaction of the two variables. Again one
notes an overall increase in the scores, but a regression from Grade 7 (6 for

low Absolv) to Grade 8. The main progress comes earlier (in Grade 6) for
pupils with high Absolv and later (in Grade 8) for pupils with low Absolv.

Figure 4. Mean score of Grade.

Figure 5 shows that the pupils in schools with low Absolv were two and a
half years behind those in schools with high Absolv. This is important to
note. With respect to general cognitive performance, Lewy and Chen (1977)
claimed that (a) the difference in achievement between students in schools
with a high versus low percentage of socially disadvantages pupils is relatively constant across grades, and (b) socially disadvantaged pupils can
learn the material, although it takes them longer to do so. Even though the
variable Absolv is not identical with the percentage of socially disadvantaged, Figure 5 appears to support the conjecture that Lewy and Chens
second observation holds not only for general cognitive performance but
also for intuitions. However, Lewy and Chens first observation cannot be
substantiated here, which may be due either to the difference between
cognitive performance and intuition or to the difference between the independent variables being used.
372 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

Figure 5. Mean score of Grade x Absolv.

--------------- high Absolv
-------------- low Absolv

The Effect of Setting

When comparing the performance on the three versions of the questionnaire, one observes that the diagram version presented more difficulties to
the students than the other two. That this occurred at all grades and for
both Absolvs (see Figures 6 and 7) may be due to the complexity of the
diagrams, as well as several questions being poorly reproduced. In a
previous study that dealt with different functional concepts, the diagram
and table settings were preferred equally (Dreyfus & Eisenberg, Note 2).

Figure 6. Mean score of Grade x Setting.

D = Diagram, G = Graph, T = Table

November 1982

373

Comparing the performance on the Graph and Table questionnaire booklets with respect to Grade (Figure 6), one finds that there is no preference
for one of the two settings over the other. When comparing the two settings
with respect to Absolv, however (Figure 7), one observes a tendency for
students with high Absolv to prefer a graph setting over a table setting but
for students with low Absolv to perform better on the table setting than on
the graph setting. The same tendency was also noted in the previous study.
In that study high-level pupils tended to choose the graph setting over the
other two settings, and low Absolv pupils tended not to choose a graph
setting.

Figure 7. Mean score of Absolv x Setting.

D = Diagram, G = Graph, T = Table

The Effect of Sex

No difference in the overall performance was found between male and
female pupils. Some of the interactions of Sex with the other variables,
however, were found to be statistically significant (see Table 2). Before
discussing these, and keeping in mind Begles recommendation about
educational versus statistical significance, let us look briefly at the
interaction between Sex and Grade. An interesting pattern develops here
that will guide the subsequent discussion of the significant interactions.
The overall mean scores of the males versus females were equal (58% vs.
59%) for all practical purposes. In Grades 6 and 7, however, the boys exhibited more intuitions on the functional concepts. In Grades 8 and 9 this
advantage was reversed, and the girls did better. Recalling the lack of
progress in performance from Grade 7 to Grade 8, one sees in Figure 8 that
quite a bit is happening under the surface. In fact, the boys dropped considerably from Grade 7 to Grade 8, whereas the girls simply failed to progress.
374 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

Figure 8. Mean score of Grade x Sex.

F = Female, M = Afa/e

A similar switching occurs in the interaction between Sex and Absolv

(see Figure 9). The boys perform more extremely than the girls, low-level
boys performing worse than low-level girls and high-level boys performing
better than high-level girls. A reason for this may be that boys are more
sensitive to the classification involved in the streaming, but no data are
available to support this hypothesis.
Additional insight can be gained from analyzing the Grade x Absolv x Sex
interaction, which was the only statistically significant three-way in-

Figure 9. Mean score of Absolv x Sex. F = Female, M = Male

November 1982

375

teraction (see Figure 10). The split according to Absolv allows for the
elaboration of the switching between the sexes as seen in Figure 8. This
switching occurs only with the high Absolv, and this effect was so strong
that it influenced the overall performance when students of both levels were
considered collectively. For low Absolv, the girls maintained their dominance over the boys throughout the grades.

Figure 10. Mean score of Grade x Absolv x Sex.

F = Female, M = Male

Grade

Several explanations can be offered for these differences. First, with

respect to Figure 8 girls in Grades 6 and 7 are physically more mature,
reaching puberty at an earlier age than boys. This physical acceleration
combined with psychological and mental maturation might be connected
with their better intuitions as measured here. On the other hand, perhaps
boys become less serious than girls as they progress through the grades, or
girls become more serious. When considering this latter explanation in light
of Figure 10, we see that the low Absolv boys were so low that they were
essentially the cause for the differences in Figure 8. Again recall that the
differences in Figure 8 are not statistically significant, but those in Figures 9
and 10 are.
Whether the period between 7th and 8th grade is the most critical time to
exploit the intuitions of girls (especially high Absolv girls) remains to be
seen. But it is definitely clear that something is happening at this stage of
child development.
This finding, taken with the recent works of Wolleat, Pedro, Becker, and
Fennema (1980), Fennema and Sherman (1978), and Hilton and Berglund
(1974)
, which show that girls of this age have already
demonstrated negative attitudes and inferior performances in
mathematical subjects, is indeed
376 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education jarring. Figures 8, 9,
and 10 seem to indicate that for intuitions, the opposite is the case. It may

well be that the intuitive advantage that girls appear to have may be
exploited in teaching and that an approach based more systematically on
intuitions could lead to a mathematics education taking both sexes
inclinations into account more equally. The results reported in this
subsection could be used as the springboard for a more detailed inquiry on
this subject.
Dependence on Concepts and Levels
We now focus on the different functional concepts as well as the two
levels of abstraction in the questionnaire. The childrens scores on the
concrete and abstract subtests separately paralleled their performances on
the test as a whole. It was found, using ANOVA (a = .05), that all factors
contributing to the significant differences on the test as a whole carried
over to the concrete part of the booklet. All factors except Setting and the
three-way interaction (Grade x Absolv x Sex) also carried over to the
abstract part. No additional factors appeared in the source tables. Grade,
Absolv, Setting, and Sex as well as the interactions of these independent
variables as discussed above accounted for 44% of the variance on the
abstract part of the booklet and 50 % on the concrete part. The trends
observed above (e.g., that low Absolv pupils lagged behind high Absolv
ones, that a wider gap in performance existed between males of high and
low Absolv than between females, that high Absolv pupils preferred a
graph setting and low Absolv did not, etc.) carried over to both the abstract
and concrete parts of the test.
When the mean scores achieved for the various functional concepts in the
questionnaire were compared, it was observed that questions about the
concept of image were answered best, whereas questions on the concept of
slope were answered worst. It is, however, more interesting to compare
differences between the three versions of the booklet for each concept. In
Figure 7 the three versions have been compared on the entire test. In Table
3 such comparisons are presented concept by concept for several
subpopulations. Looking at the concept of growth, one sees in Table 3 that
the overall difference in achievement slightly favored the graph setting; low
Absolv pupils did better in the table setting, whereas high Absolv pupils did
better in the graph setting. That pupils with high Absolv preferred the
graph setting for all concepts, whereas low Absolv pupils preferred the
table setting, was
Table 3
Preferred Settings for Functional Concepts: G = graph, T = table, for Three
Populations
Full Population
High Absolv
Low Absolv

Image
T
G
T*

Preimage
G
G*
T

Growth
G
G
T*

Extrema
T
G
T*

Slope
G*
G*
G

* Mean score for this setting higher than mean score for other two settings by at least 3 percentage points.

November 1982
377
observed throughout, suggesting that the subconcepts should be introduced
in a graph setting for high Absolv students and in a table setting for low

Absolv students.
It is also interesting to note that the previous instruction that 7th graders
received in the Cartesian coordinate system seemed not to improve their
performance on the booklets regardless of setting, sex, or level. Indeed,
there was a drop in performance from 7th to 8th grade in all partitions of
the independent variables.
Conclusion

This study assessed the intuitions students have on selected function

concepts presented in diagram, graph, and table settings. Grade, Absolv (a
construct variable combining ability level and the extent to which the learning environment was socially disadvantaged), Setting, and the Sex of the
children, as well as the interactions of these variables, accounted for most of
the variance in the responses to the questionnaires.
With respect to the hypotheses addressed in the study, the following
conclusions can be stated:
HI cannot be rejected. Pupils intuitions on functional concepts do grow
with their progress through the grades.
H2 cannot be rejected. No differences in the intuitions between boys and
girls in junior high school were observed. However, there are indications
that girls tend to develop their intuitions at a different rate from boys.
H3 cannot be rejected. High-level (Absolv) pupils demonstrate correct
intuitions more often than low-level pupils.
H4 has to be rejected. It is not true that intuitions in concrete situations
are more often correct than in abstract ones.
Carpenter (Note 4) stated that given the difficulty of characterizing
stages of development and constructing good measures of development, it is
not surprising that little has been accomplished in analyzing specific mathematical topics in terms of cognitive development requirements (p. 79). This
study was a step in that direction.
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[Received September 1981; revised March 1982]

Authors Sought for the 1985 Yearbook on the Secondary School

Mathematics Curriculum
Would you like to contribute an article for publication in the 1985 Yearbook of the NCTM? The
theme of the yearbook is a reexamination of the mathematics curriculum of grades 9 through 12 in
the light of the Councils Agenda for Action as well as changes over the last two decades in societys
uses of and need for mathematics. The yearbook editor is Christian R. Hirsch, Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo.
The deadline for submission of manuscripts is 1 March 1983. Guidelines for authors, including a
description of the topics to be addressed and directions for preparing manuscripts, are available
from Marilyn J. Zweng, General Yearbook Editor, N297 Lindquist Center, University of Iowa, Iowa
City, IA 52242.

380 Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions