Assessing the impacts of an interventional proof-writing course

• Kathleen Hoffman ^[1] ; Tory H. Williams ^[2] ; Justin T. Webster ^[1] ; Jennifer M. Harrison ^[3] ; Kalman M. Nanes ^[1]
  1. [1] Department of Mathematics and Statistics, UMBC, Baltimore, MD, USA
  2. [2] College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, UMBC, Baltimore, MD, USA
  3. [3] Faculty Development Center, UMBC, Baltimore, MD, USA

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• Localización: International journal of mathematical education in science and technology, ISSN 0020-739X, Vol. 57, Nº. 3, 2026, págs. 466-490
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2025.2454604
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• Resumen

  • Teaching and learning proof-writing for upper-level courses in the mathematical sciences is challenging for both the instructor and the students. We developed an interventional course to introduce students to logic and proof-writing, prior to the standard disciplinary courses of real analysis or abstract algebra. We measured the impact of this course on student learning and success through several different measures: direct measures of student learning; a pre-post assessment instrument; course grades in the prerequisite, interventional and subsequent courses; qualitative data from students after completing the subsequent real analysis course; and demographic information from institutional databases. Students show significant gains in the pre-post assessment instrument, relative to student learning outcomes in the interventional course. Analysis of course demographic data and course grades shows that students who took the interventional course were positively impacted by the intervention, and also qualitatively expressed their appreciation for the course. Our data suggest that the results are transferable relative to changes in instructor and in subsequent courses in the mathematical sciences which rely significantly on proof-writing.