Assessing Proof Reading Comprehension Using Summaries

In this paper, we explore the role of mathematical proof summaries as a tool for capturing students’ reading comprehension of a given proof. We present an interview study based on mathematicians’ pairwise evaluations of student-produced summaries of a proof demonstrating the uncountability of the open unit interval. We present a thematic analysis, exploring features of mathematicians’ pairwise decision-making and their priorities in evaluating summaries. We argue that the students’ proof summaries shared several properties with traditional modes of proof-writing and were frequently evaluated against similar conventions. We consider the consequences for research and practice with proof comprehension and conclude that proof summaries have the potential to form the basis of a new approach to assessment in this area.

Linguistic Conventions of Mathematical Proof Writing at the Undergraduate Level: Mathematicians' and Students' Perspectives

This study examined the genre of undergraduate mathematical proof writing by asking mathematicians and undergraduate students to read 7 partial proofs and identify and discuss uses of mathematical language that were out of the ordinary with respect to what they considered conventional mathematical proof writing. Three main themes emerged: First, mathematicians believed that mathematical language should obey the conventions of academic language, whereas students were either unaware of these conventions or unaware that these conventions applied to proof writing. Second, students did not fully understand the nuances involved in how mathematicians introduce objects in proofs. Third, mathematicians focused on the context of the proof to decide how formal a proof should be, whereas students did not seem to be aware of the importance of this factor.

Editor's Note

Authors in issue 3.1 of *Prompt* present ideas for teaching proof writing in math, examining scholarly writing in the classroom, and reinvigorating approaches to teaching professional writing genres.