RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
“…it’s more of a healthy skepticism…”: Descriptions of Undergraduate Students’ Mathematical Convictions and Proclivities
Page: 1006
This study used a survey containing two open-ended questions and a ranked choice question. I investigated undergraduate students’ mathematical convictions relating to whether they experienced a lack of conviction. Students were asked about their proclivities when an instructor presents a proof to the class. Preliminary findings show that few students experienced a lack of conviction with either theorems or proofs. For theorems, a lack of understanding was often cited. For proofs, students cited doubts about the rigor of those proof types such as picture proofs. Students’ proclivities seemed to show that their focus was on understanding a proof’s content. Further evidence provided by follow-up interviews corroborated this interpretation and that students may in fact reflect on matters of conviction in mathematical settings.