2000/07/01 by Lulu Healy, Lulú Healy, Celia Hoyles · 5 citations
Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills #History and Theory of Mathematics #Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
paper · doi:10.2307/749651
crossref issued 2000/07/01 · crossref published 2000/07/01 · crossref published-print 2000/07/01 · openalex publication_date 2000/07/01 · crossref created 2006/05/04 · crossref deposited 2021/01/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
After surveying high-attaining 14and 15-year-old students about proof in algebra, we found that students simultaneously held 2 different conceptions of proof: those about arguments they considered would receive the best mark and those about arguments they would adopt for themselves. In the former category, algebraic arguments were popular. In the latter, students preferred arguments that they could evaluate and that they found convincing and explanatory, preferences that excluded algebra. Empirical argument predominated in students' own proof constructions, although most students were aware of its limitations. The most successful students presented proofs in everyday language, not using algebra. Students' responses were influenced mainly by their mathematical competence but also by curricular factors, their views of proof, and their genders.