Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

What Makes A ‘Good’ Definition: Analyzing Students’ Conceptions Of Mathematical Definitions And The Pedagogy Of Definitions In Math Education, Jesse Aston

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

What are the key differences between how students view mathematical definitions and how their professors think they do? In this study we follow students during a guided reconstruction exercise in which they create a definition for, in this case, the convergence of a sequence and we record the process on film. Several theoretical frameworks including RME are then used to analyze student responses and behavior throughout the process and determine the difference in perceptions between student and teacher; these differences inform the best method to present definitions to students.