PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2014
Denver, Colorado
Are Students Better At Validation After A Transition-To-Proof Course?
Page: 1017
This paper presents the results of a study of the proof validation abilities and behaviors of sixteen undergraduates after taking an inquiry-based transition-to-proof course. Students were interviewed individually towards the end of the course using the same protocol that we had used earlier at the beginning of a similar course (Selden and Selden, 2003). Results include a description of the students’ observed validation behaviors, a description of their proffered evaluative comments, and the, perhaps counterintuitive, suggestion that taking an inquiry- based transition-to-proof course does not seem to enhance validation abilities. We also discuss distinctions between proof validation, proof comprehension, proof construction and proof evaluation and the need for research on their interrelation.