PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2013
Denver, Colorado
Cooperative Learning and Traversing the Continuum of Proof Expertise
Page: 2-435
This paper describes preliminary results of a study aimed at examining the effects of working in cooperative groups on acquisition and development of proof skills. Particular attention will be paid to the varying tendencies of students to switch proof methods (direct, induction, contradiction, etc) based on their level of proof expertise. Namely, as students progress from novice to expert provers, they tend to change proof methods more frequently until they reach the final stages of development (Hart 1994).