Preservice mathematics teachers, like all learners, have well documented difficulties with the concept of function. We designed an applet-based task to challenge these known difficulties with the aim of improving preservice secondary mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs) conceptions of function. This cross-institutional study of 47 PSMTs examined the ways in which this task elicited and improved PSMTs’ conceptions of function. The results of the study show a measurable increase in the participants’ level of abstraction in their definition of function, and an increase in their attention to the univalence condition. In particular, the interaction with the specially designed applet was effective in initiating a series of dilemmas in their conception of function that resulted in the majority of the participants changing their conception of function in a positive direction.

与所有学习者一样，职前数学教师在函数概念方面存在着有据可查的困难。我们设计了一个基于小程序的任务来挑战这些已知的困难，目的是提高职前中学数学教师 (PSMT) 的功能概念。这项对 47 个 PSMT 的跨机构研究检查了这项任务引发和改进 PSMT 功能概念的方式。研究结果表明，参与者对功能定义的抽象程度显着提高，他们对单价条件的关注也有所增加。尤其是，