Math Department Action Research

Our Focus

As a math department we originally research around the topic of how the lack of visualization leads to a defeatist mindset. As mathematicians, of course we looked at it from a proof standpoint:

lack of visualization => defeatist mindset

Our initial challenge was believing that the flow of the proof is visualization, therefore defeatist mindset. Or was it the other way around: defeatist mindset, therefore lack of visualization. Another proof fallacy we encountered was that you cannot initially accept what your proving is true in order for the proof to work. That's really confusing, I know, but for our students to become deep thinking, we have to model deep thinking ourselves.

What we found is our focus was too narrow. The road to defeatist mindset in mathematics can come from many separate roads. Visualization is just one of these roads and therefore any research to prove that lack of visualization leads to defeatist mindset provides only narrow results, in relation to the bigger picture.

We then transitioned our focus from why students come to us with a defeatist mindset, to rekindling their want for an understanding, not just a concluding answer. We want them to feel a bit of mystery in the topics we teach through the ways we propose questions and discussion. Where they can feel free to be detectives in search for the truth, not just procedural, but the truth that comes from a deeper understanding. Our focus now turned to "Inquiry".