PROCEEDINGS OF THE 20TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2017
San Diego, California
Using expectancy value theory to account for students’ mathematical justifications
Page: 1009
There is a robust body of research demonstrating that when students are asked to justify amathematical assertion, they will frequently generate empirical arguments to do so. They alsosometimes claim a deductive argument does not supply them with certainty that the assertion iscorrect. Mathematics educators frequently attribute this to students having deficient standards ofconviction. In this paper, we illustrate another theoretical account. Students might believe thatthey lack the cognitive capacity to produce a superior argument to an empirical argument or toverify that a deductive argument is correct.