Students’ conceptions of limits, high achievers versus low achievers

Learning an advanced mathematical concept, limits of functions in this case, is not a linear development equal for all learners. Intentions and abilities influence students’ learning paths and results. Students’ learning developments of limits were studied in terms of concept images (Tall & Vinner, 1981) in the sense that their actions, such as problem solving and reasoning, were considered traces of their mental representations of concepts. High achievers’ developments were compared to low achievers’ developments to for the duration of a semester to reveal differences and similarities.