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Insight Into Student Conceptions Of Proof, Steven Daniel Lauzon

Theses and Dissertations

The emphasis of undergraduate mathematics content is centered around abstract reasoning and proof, whereas students' pre-college mathematical experiences typically give them limited exposure to these concepts. Not surprisingly, many students struggle to make the transition to undergraduate mathematics in their first course on mathematical proof, known as a bridge course. In the process of this study, eight students of varied backgrounds were interviewed before during and after their bridge course at BYU. By combining the proof scheme frameworks of Harel and Sowder (1998) and Ko and Knuth (2009), I analyzed and categorized students’ initial proof schemes, observed their development throughout …