PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Re-claiming: One way in which conceptual understanding informs proving activity
Page: 383
In this research, I set out to elucidate the construct of Re-Claiming - a way in which students’ conceptual understanding informs their proof activity. This construct emerged during a broader research project in which I analyzed data from individual interviews with three students from a junior-level Modern Algebra course in order to model the students’ understanding of inverse and identity, model their proof activity, and explore connections between the two models. Each stage of analysis consisted of iterative coding, drawing on grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). In order to model conceptual understanding, I draw on the form/function framework (Saxe, et al., 1998). I analyze proof activity using Aberdein’s (2006a, 2006b) extension of Toulmin’s (1969) model of argumentation. Reflection across these two analyses contributed to the development of the construct of Re-Claiming, which I describe and explore in this article.