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Why do students write poor proof texts? A case study on undergraduates’ proof writing

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Abstract

This paper deals with writing a proof text as the final step of the proving process at university level, particularly when it results in a disorganized, unclear draft. The reported study concerns third year university students when dealing with proof tasks for which the proving process has to be built up, as opposed to tasks that students may tackle by known proving procedures. By comparing the analysis of students’ proof texts with their interview responses, a strong influence of the didactic contract, lack of meta-knowledge about proof, and a weak mastery of concepts were identified as possible reasons for the poor quality of the proof texts. Some educational implications and hints for further research are provided.

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Notes

  1. The oral language in Algeria, a descendant of classic Arabic with many words and expressions from different languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish…).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Yahia Fares, Medea, Algeria

    Nadia Azrou

  2. USTHB, Algiers, Algeria

    Nadia Azrou & Abdelkader Khelladi

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  1. Nadia Azrou
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  2. Abdelkader Khelladi
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Correspondence to Nadia Azrou.

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Azrou, N., Khelladi, A. Why do students write poor proof texts? A case study on undergraduates’ proof writing. Educ Stud Math 102, 257–274 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-019-09911-9

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