PROCEEDINGS OF THE 20TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2017
San Diego, California
Students’ social adaptation to mathematical tasks
Page: 1261
In this study, an advanced undergraduate geometry class taught in an inquiry-based learningsetting was observed for social and socio-mathematical norms. Three pairs of students engagedin three task-based, semi-structured interviews: paired, individually, then paired again, solvingthe Seven Bridges of Königsberg and related tasks. A fourth stimulated-recall interview wasperformed using episodes from the last paired interview. Classroom observations and interviewdiscourses were open coded for themes, structure, and function to analyze the norms developedwithin the classroom and by each pair as shaped by their social interactions. Tentative findingsinclude: 1) norms of consensus, autonomy, and argumentation produced within the classroom, 2)varying metaphors across interview contexts, and 3) reliance on empirical strategies rather thanstructural reasoning. In this preliminary report, evidence from collected data is shared and abrief discussion how these results could help inform IBL teaching methods is included.Keywords: