PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
How may Fostering Creativity Impact Student Self-efficacy for Proving?
Page: 1509
Mathematical creativity has been emphasized by mathematicians as an essential piece of doing mathematics, yet little research has been done to study the effects of fostering creativity in the undergraduate classroom. In this paper, we seek to understand creativity in the classroom using Sriraman’s (2005) five principles for fostering mathematical creativity by studying how these principles impact student self-efficacy for proving. Using online student surveys, interviews, and classroom observation, we demonstrate how Sriraman’s five principles and Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy may be used to explore the impact of fostering mathematical creativity on student’s self-efficacy for proving. Then from the interviews, we highlight how the use of the free market and scholarly principles may influence student self-efficacy via vicarious role-modeling, and explain why the use of these two principles may be of particular importance in fostering student self-efficacy for proving.