The Potential of Statement-Posing Tasks.
Kai‐Lin Yang · for the learning of mathematics · 2010
A statement-posing task is a setting where a proof is given without its corresponding propositions and students are asked to think what these arguments can prove. Figure 1 shows a statement-posing task for undergraduates mathematics stu dents. These arguments adopt proof by contradiction to prove that if x > 0, x < y, then Jx< Jy. AI, A2 and A3 in Figure 1 express three properties which are applied in these arguments. If students are given a proof like this, will they be able to find the statement that the proof proves? What benefits might such a task have for understanding the proving process? This article considers this question.