Research has shown that mathematics courses at university often focus more on
conceptual understanding than those at secondary school (Clark & Lovric, 2008).
Moreover, the literature reports that the types of tasks assigned to students affect
their learning. A project was undertaken by the authors in which tasks were
designed and presented to first-year undergraduate Calculus students with the aim
of promoting conceptual understanding and developing mathematical thinking skills.
Here we present data from interviews with five students; they reported an increased
emphasis on conceptual understanding at university, and found the tasks assigned
beneficial in the development of conceptual understanding. We suggest that
unfamiliar tasks are useful in the transition from school to university mathematics
