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This paper discusses aspects and Grundvorstellungen in the development of concepts of derivative and integral, which are considered central to the teaching of calculus in senior high school. We will focus on perspectives that are relevant when these concepts are first introduced. In the context of a subject matter didactical debate, the ideas are separated into two classes: firstly, more mathematically motivated aspects such as the limit of difference quotients or local linearization within the concept of derivative, as well as the product sum, antiderivative, and measure aspects of integration; secondly, the Grundvorstellungen associated with the concepts of derivative and integral. We consider finding a comprehensive description of aspects and Grundvorstellungen to be an important objective of subject matter didactics. This description should clarify both the differences and the relationships between these perspectives, including both mathematically motivated aspects and Grundvorstellungen which are central to the students' perspective. The primary objectives of this paper include a specification of the concepts of aspects and Grundvorstellungen in the context of differentiation and integration and a discussion of the relationships between the aspects and Grundvorstellungen associated with the concepts of derivative and integral. We begin by presenting the characteristic properties of aspects and Grundvorstellungen, including an account of related concepts and the current state of research. These two concepts are then analyzed, based on a subject matter didactical analysis of the concepts of derivative and integral. We conclude with an account of how these insights can be beneficially exploited for introducing differentiation and integration in real-life environments, within the framework of a theory of concept understanding and subject matter didactics.

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In this paper we introduce a theoretical framework concerned with fostering functional thinking in Grade 8 students by utilizing digital technologies. This framework is meant to be used to guide the systematic variation of tasks for implementation in the classroom while using digital technologies. Examples of problems and tasks illustrate this process. Additionally, results of an empirical investigation with Grade 8 students, which focusses on the students’ skills with digital technologies, how they utilize these tools when engaging with the developed tasks, and how they influence their functional thinking, are presented. The research aim is to investigate in which way tasks designed according to the theoretical framework could promote functional thinking while using digital technologies in the sense of the operative principle. The results show that the developed framework—Function-Operation-Matrix—is a sound basis for initiating students’ actions in the sense of the operative principle, to foster the development of functional thinking in its three aspects, namely, assignment, co-variation and object, and that digital technologies can support this process in a meaningful way.