Computer Experiences in Learning Composition of Functions

Computer instantiations of abstract concepts could assist mathematics education by providing concrete experiences and by inducing the mental process of construction that Piaget called reflective abstraction. Two classes of college students ( n = 13) given 6 weeks of computer experiences to help induce reflective abstraction scored higher on a test of their understanding of functions and compositions than one class of students ( n = 17) who were taught according to traditional methods. The comparison was based on questions intended to indicate whether reflective abstraction had taken place.