PROCEEDINGS OF THE 18TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2015
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Undergraduate students’ construction of existence proofs
Page: 913
The purpose of this study is to explore students’ activities while they construct existence proofs. We focus on three undergraduate students who completed a transition-to-proof course, and analyze their constructions of existence proofs. The results indicate that students’ activities for existence proofs were associated with their interpretations of a given statement, strategic knowledge for their proofs, and proving frames recruited. In addition, we discuss how the students’ conceptions of proof also play a role in their construction of existence proofs.