PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 1)
2012
Portland, Oregon
The Implied Observer of a Mathematics Lecture
Page: 1-202
There is a need to explain the relationship between teaching (classroom activities) and the resulting student learning, especially in advanced mathematics classes. This study represents a first attempt to describe the opportunity to learn present in an abstract algebra lecture, as an exemplar of advanced mathematics. Based on Weinberg and Wiesner’s (2010) work on the implied reader of a mathematics textbook, we describe the implied observer of a lecture as a bundle of codes, competencies and behaviors that are needed to make a meaningful interpretation of the lecture. We also use the framework to analyze an abstract algebra class and describe needed codes, competencies and behaviors of a student of that class. Finally, we close the paper by discussing both theoretical and methodological questions that remain and how those questions give rise to disagreements about how to interpret a component of the lecture by expert observers.