RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Learning Approaches in an Introduction to Proofs Course
Page: 173
We take a situated cognitive perspective to better understand how undergraduate students utilize study resources in their introduction to proofs (ITP) course, particularly compared to their use of these resources in pre-proof courses. Prior research has shown that the transition to proof contains an increase in expectations of rigor compared to previous undergraduate mathematics courses. However, less is known about how students select particular study resources to meet these new expectations. We conducted task-based interviews with four undergraduate students enrolled in an ITP course to better understand the study resources they employed in both pre- proof and proof-based contexts, and the potential motivating factors behind adjustments to study methods. We found that students attempted to migrate previously used resources as well as adopting new resources and were motivated to adjust some study habits due to the novelty of the ITP context, a lack of relevant resources, and instructor modeling.