The Story of Definite Integrals: A Calculus Textbook Narrative Analysis

Abstract

There is a plethora of textbooks to choose from. While most textbooks contain the same content, teachers need to understand the textbook they have chosen to support their students’ learning, as textbooks can significantly impact student learning and teacher instruction. When searching for a way to understand the various textbooks, my research question became, How do calculus textbooks tell the story of definite integrals? My research is in response to the never-ending search for how teachers can select and use their resources. Also, this study contributes to understanding the relationships between stories and knowledge construction using Dietiker’s (2015) narrative framework to analyze the written calculus curriculum. I wrote the specific stories of introducing the definite integral as told by five calculus textbooks. Analyzing how the stories developed disclosed the similarities and differences among the texts in teaching definite integrals. The analysis also revealed a variety of avenues to introduce and teach definite integrals, including a focus on the area under the curve, Riemann sums, or the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and some implications to the context of physics related to these avenues. These insights provide teachers with a deeper understanding of textbook lessons and the variances that can potentially alter student learning.