Understanding the calculus

Abstract

A number of significant changes have have occurred recently that give us a golden opportunity to review the teaching of calculus. The most obvious is the arrival of the microcomputer in the mathematics classroom, allowing graphic demonstrations and individual investigations into the mathematical ideas. But equally potent are new insights into mathematics and mathematics education that suggest new ways of approaching the subject. In this article I shall consider some of the difficulties encountered studying the calculus and outline a viable alternative approach suitable for specialist and non-specialist mathematics students alike