PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Student note taking behavior in proof-based mathematics classes
Page: 2-425
There is a need to explain the relationship between teaching (classroom activities) and learning. This study is one attempt to explore student note-taking as a form of mediation between teaching and learning outcomes. We will adapt the theoretical framework described by Weinberg and Wiesner (2010), who applied ideas of literary criticism to describe factors that impact the ways students read and understand mathematics textbooks. The two concepts we will use are those of the implied reader and reading models. We are investigating student note-taking in the context of a proof-based abstract algebra class that is taught, primarily, via a lecture. We are recording the lectures and creating a set of expert-notes that are then compared with the student notes. We then interview the students to better understand the decisions that they make vis-à-vis note taking and how they “read” the text of a lecture.