RUME 26
2024
Omaha, Nebraska
Obligations and Norms: How Instructors Respond to Students’ Correct but Non-Traditional Proofs
Page: 642
Proof is a central pillar of mathematical practice, and so teaching proof to undergraduate students is a necessary responsibility for undergraduate mathematics instructors. Our study contributes to research on how instructors can achieve this goal by examining their responses to student-generated existence proofs. In particular, the simple logical structure of an existence proof allows for proof-writing norms to be the focus of attention. By analyzing instructors’ responses to students’ existence proofs in terms of norms, values, and professional obligations, our study attends to the ways in which norms are (or are not) supported by instructors in undergraduate mathematics classrooms.