RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Subjective Combinatorics: A Case of Set Partition Problems
Page: 565
Research in combinatorics education highlights the importance of examining how students think about counting problems to gain deeper insight into their conceptualizations. Such an examination involves attending to students’ interpretations of counting problems, particularly the subjective elements that influence their combinatorial thinking. Subjective combinatorics has recently been introduced to account for these elements in how students interpret counting problems and engage in counting activity. This paper refines the construct and demonstrates its usefulness as a lens for analyzing students’ engagement with counting problems through an examination of student work on a set-partition task.