RUME 25
2023
Omaha, Nebraska
University students’ evaluations of quantified statements in mathematics: A survey study
Page: 677
In this paper, we describe the results of administering a survey we created to investigate students’ meanings for a universally quantified variable. Respondents with various levels of proof-course experience reviewed statement interpretations showcasing different meanings for quantified variables, indicating their preferred examples, which examples they believed to be viable, and a truth value for the statement. We developed the various interpretations from meanings described in our previous qualitative work on student quantification (e.g., Sellers et al., 2021). Our results suggest that students with a range of proof-course experience may benefit from reviewing diverse interpretations of a quantified statement. Still, students with less proof experience tended to accept more interpretations as viable or chose inappropriate truth values. In particular, we identify two non-normative interpretations most students believed were viable. We recommend proof-course instructors explicitly address these meanings in their classroom to foster student understanding of quantified statements.