PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mary, Mary, is not quite so contrary: Unless she’s wearing Hilbert’s shoes
Page: 571
Researchers (Leron, 1985; Harel & Sowder, 1998) have argued that students’ lack a preference for indirect proofs and have argued that the lack of preference is due to a preference for constructive arguments. Recent empirical research (author, 2015), however, which employed a comparative selection task involving a direct proof and an indirect proof of the contraposition form, found no evidence of a lack of preference for indirect proof. Recognizing that indirect proofs of the contradiction form may differ from those that employ the contraposition, this study documents students’ proof preferences and selection rationales when engaging in a comparative selection task involving a direct proof and an indirect proof of the contradiction form.