PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
The Creation of a Humanistic Educational Framework for the Nature of Pure Mathematics
Page: 432
Within the field of mathematics education research, scholars have found that students often have naïve views about the nature of mathematics. Mathematics is seen as an impersonal and uncreative subject. What can educators do to challenge such views, and support students in developing richer understandings of the nature of mathematics? In this paper, I describe my dissertation study, the goal of which was to identify humanistic characteristics of pure mathematics which may be of benefit for undergraduate students in a transition-to-proof course to know and understand. Using the methodological framework of heuristic inquiry, which leverages the researcher as instrument in qualitative research, I identified humanistic characteristics of mathematics by reviewing relevant literature, collaborating with a professional mathematician, co-teaching an undergraduate transition-to-proof course, and being open to mathematics wherever it appeared in life. The main result is the IDEA Framework for the Nature of Pure Mathematics.