Abstract:

The study of Differential and Integral Calculus is addressed in Single Variable Calculus, a first year subject of engineering careers. For a better understanding of the definitions, theorems and applications that involve these contents, students need to work with different registers of semiotic representation in treatment activities and conversions between them.

In advanced Mathematics, such as the one developed in this subject, is where a strong need for abstract management begins. In Calculus courses, objects are defined and for this, natural language is always present, either for the definition itself or to describe or enunciate relationships between mathematical objects.

Data collected in previous years at Facultad Regional San Nicolás (FRSN), Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina, on the performance of students in treatment activities and conversions in the different representation registers gave as a result that in the natural register (in its written version), the students presented numerous difficulties and made a lot of mistakes. This is why the concern arose to investigate what happened with the treatment activities in this register since the beginning of the course.

Taking Duval's theory of semiotic registers of representation and their links to Mathematics as a main reference, this paper focus on the results obtained in the first assessment of 2019 course in the treatment activities in the natural register with the Electronic and Mechanical specialties in the subject Single Variable Calculus at FRSN. It is also analyzed, after the following assessment, if these students have improved communication after working during the development of the contents of the subject.

Keywords:

Competence, communication, registers of representation.