PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Assessment of College Students’ Understanding of the Equals Relation
Page: 2-275
Incorrect usages of the equal sign by undergraduate students indicate a tendency for students to comprehend the equal sign as an operator symbol or to ignore the equal sign altogether. This article focuses on college students’ understanding of the equals sign and the equals relation, and how that understanding is influenced by the context in which the equals sign is presented. This study indicates that college students often fail to correctly interpret the equals relation and suggests two explanations for these misinterpretations: 1) students fail to recognize the extent of the sameness suggested by an equation, 2) when students focus on solving, evaluating, or coming up with “the answer” they fail to recognize the contribution of the equals sign or other indications of an equals relation in a given context.