Official URL: http://www.mathematik.uni-dortmund.de/~erme/doc/CE...

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.