This paper describes a study that used a novel method to investigate conceptual difficulties with mathematical induction among two groups of undergraduate students: students who had received university-level instruction in formal mathematical induction, and students who had not been exposed to formal mathematical induction at the university level.…

Statistics classes are required for postsecondary students in a variety of majors, in addition to students who are statistics majors themselves. Although many students will experience statistics class during college, there is very little research examining the state of diversity within these classes and within statistics programs. This study uses…

In this paper, I investigate whether two-stage exams aid learning in undergraduate mathematics, as measured by students' performance on subsequent exams. In a two-stage exam, students complete the exam individually then form into groups to solve it again, with grades based on a combination of the two stages. Previous research in other disciplines…

This interactive essay serves as a research companion to support the reader in thinking and talking about equity in research design, implementation, and reporting in post-secondary mathematics education. The terms equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice have entered the mathematics education research lexicon. Yet, researchers continue to…

Combinatorial proof is an important topic both for combinatorics education and proof education researchers, but relatively little has been studied about the teaching and learning of combinatorial proof. In this paper, we focus on one specific phenomenon that emerged during interviews with mathematicians and students who were experienced provers as…

In this instrumental case study, we examined the ways in which one mathematician's instruction unfolded during his participation in a faculty collaboration geared towards reforming instruction. In the study, we offer the case as both the participant's collaborative experience in an online faculty collaboration and his implementation of an inquiry…

How is the content of university programs selected and structured? How does it evolve? In the anthropological theory of the didactic, external didactic transposition designates the processes through which knowledge to be taught is delimited and developed for delivery within a school institution, including universities. This paper presents a first…

College algebra has been noted as a critical course in post-secondary institutions because it serves as a gateway for major selection and college completion. Combinatorial topics like repeatable permutations are often overlooked in K-12 and undergraduate curricula. Likewise, students' achievement and motivation are affected by the type of…

We present a validation study of fifteen new math anxiety scale items designed to augment the widely-used Revised Mathematics Anxiety Scale (RMARS). While the RMARS and other standard instruments measure students' anxiety in response to computation, test situations, and math course activities such as buying a textbook or watching a lecture, the…

Online learning environments are being used for teaching and learning of mathematics at university level. Exploiting the potential of digital technology, these Internet-based environments administer computer-generated homework, assistance and feedback for students. This article presents a case-study of a small group of ?undergraduate engineering…

This study compares the relative influence of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics in university students' interpretation of multiply quantified statements in mathematics, both before and after instruction. Like previous studies, results show that semantics plays a heavy role in student interpretation, especially before instruction. Unlike previous…

In many countries STEM degree programs face high dropout rates, which are often attributed to insufficient mathematical preparation of incoming undergraduates. However, it is largely unclear which mathematical prerequisites universities expect from their new STEM undergraduates. There are hardly official documents and it is even an open question…

Note-taking is one of the most pervasive activities of students in college courses, so it has been the subject of educational research for quite some time. Yet despite the large body research, little is known about the characteristics of note-taking in mathematics. For this reason, this exploratory study examined the note-taking habits of seven…

Most prospective secondary mathematics teachers in the United States complete a course in real analysis, yet view the content as unrelated to their future teaching. We leveraged a theoretically-motivated instructional model to design modules for a real analysis course that could inform secondary teachers' actionable content knowledge and pedagogy.…

The multiplication principle (MP) is a fundamental aspect of combinatorial enumeration. In an effort to better understand students' reasoning about the MP, we had two undergraduate students reinvent a statement of the MP in a teaching experiment. In this paper, we adopt an actor-oriented perspective (Lobato, "Educational Researcher,"…