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ERIC Number: ED606710
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Fine-Grained Analysis of Proof Summaries: A Case Study of Abstract Algebra Students
Demeke, Eyob
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (40th, Greenville, SC, Nov 15-18, 2018)
In this paper I explore eleven undergraduate students' comprehension of a proof taken from an undergraduate abstract algebra course. My interpretation of what it means to understand a proof is based on a proof comprehension model developed by Mejia-Ramos, et al. (2012). This study in particular examines the extent to which undergraduate students are able to summarize a proof using the proof's higher-level ideas. Additionally, eleven doctoral students in mathematics were asked to provide a summary of the same proof that the undergraduate students received. Undergraduates' holistic comprehension of the proof was then analyzed in light of summaries that the doctoral students provided. The main finding of the study is that undergraduates' comprehension of the proof was overall inadequate--notably, they demonstrated limited skills in summarizing a proof via the proof's key ideas. Moreover, undergraduates failed to recognize the scope of the method used in the proof. [For the complete proceedings, see ED606531.]
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. e-mail: pmena.steeringcommittee@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.pmena.org/
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A