PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2014
Denver, Colorado
Disambiguating Research on Logic as it Pertaints to Advanced Mathematical Practice
Page: 548
Many consider logic a hallmark of mathematical practice and an integral part of proof- oriented mathematical instruction. This is true of the term logic whether it refers to a domain of mathematical study or to aspects of reasoning, but I claim that these formalized and psychological senses of the term must be carefully distinguished in mathematics education research. In the course of identifying how the abstraction criterion has been misapplied across various types of logic in psychological and mathematics education research, I outline a framework for the disambiguation of the range of research constructs referred to as logic. By distinguishing the types of logic pertinent to mathematics education instruction, I hope to provide a language by which future research can better specify the constructs they investigate. Clearer research constructs should help the community to understand the role various logics play in students’ apprenticeship into the practices of advanced mathematics.