Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

An investigation of tenth grade students' views of the purpose of geometric proof

Public Deposited

Contenu téléchargeable

Télécharger le fichier PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/v692t935k

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • The purpose of this investigation was to describe tenth grade students' views of the purposes of geometric proof within the context of their learning. Classroom observations, the curriculum, assessment tools, journal questions, and a preconceptions questionnaire were used to provide context for the views expressed by students from a single classroom. Eleven classroom episodes selected from the classroom observations were used to describe the instructional context as well as discourse among the students during group work. The episodes provided details about how and when the classroom teacher addressed various purposes of proofs involving geometry concepts throughout two instructional units on coordinate geometry proofs and two-column proofs. The episodes also consisted of student discourse relating to the purposes of geometric proof as students worked on assigned proof problems. The students' views were examined through journal questions given at the beginning of selected days and through a post-instruction questionnaire and individual interviews. There were three main findings of the study. First, several students experienced difficulty in expressing their views of the purposes of geometric proof when asked directly. One-third of the students could only list properties or theorems they encountered during the unit on geometric proof. However, when these students were asked to describe the purpose for each column, all of the students listed both explanation and verification. Second, the students expressed limited views of the purposes of proof, referring mainly to verification. Only a few students mentioned explanation, systematization, and communication. However, students generally referred to at least two purposes of proof (explanation, verification, and communication) when describing the proving process involved in coordinate geometry. Third, the students' views of various purposes of geometric proof were diverse. Recommendations for future research include the examination of students' views of the purposes of geometric proofs for students who use paragraph form and studies to investigate the development of students' views of the purposes of proof as they gain more experience with formal proof writing and other methods of proof.
License
Resource Type
Date Available
Date Issued
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Academic Affiliation
Non-Academic Affiliation
Subject
Déclaration de droits
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Digitization Specifications
  • File scanned at 300 ppi (Monochrome) using ScandAll PRO 1.8.1 on a Fi-6670 in PDF format. CVista PdfCompressor 4.0 was used for pdf compression and textual OCR.
Replaces

Des relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Dans Collection:

Articles

La vignette Titre Date de téléchargement Visibilité actes
file details GfellerMaryKatherine2004.pdf 2017-08-15 Public Télécharger