Learning to Graph Linear Functions: A Case Study of Conceptual Change

This case study shows how a student's strategies and associated conceptions emerged and changed over the course of a 6-session tutoring curriculum designed to develop conceptual knowledge of linear functions. Using microgenetic and sequential analyses, we identify the student's strategies and conceptions and describe how these changed. We show how the student did not erase his original conception or replace it with a conception supported by instruction, but instead refined his initial strategies and conceptions.