AlcockAttridge(2022)RUME.pdf (313.23 kB)
Download fileCounterexamples and refutations in undergraduate mathematics
conference contribution
posted on 2022-03-02, 10:53 authored by Lara AlcockLara Alcock, Nina AttridgeHow do undergraduate mathematics students interpret refutations? We investigated this question by asking participants to 1) decide whether statements are true or false and provide refutations, 2) evaluate counterexamples and ‘correct versions’ of the statements as valid or invalid refutations, and 3) judge which potential refutations are better, explaining why. We report a study in which 173 undergraduate mathematics students completed this task. Results reveal that participants did largely understand the logic of counterexamples but did not reliably understand the broader logic of refutations.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Mathematics Education Centre
Published in
Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics EducationPages
1 - 9Source
2022 Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics EducationPublisher
The Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America (SIGMAA) for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics EducationVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education and the definitive published version is available at http://sigmaa.maa.org/rume/Site/Proceedings.html.Acceptance date
2021-11-29Publication date
2022-07-01Copyright date
2022ISSN
2474-9346Publisher version
Language
- en