Deterministic model for objectifying the students’ proving process in discrete mathematics

Overview & Synopsis

This paper presents a deterministic model for describing and objectifying the students' mathematical activity, targeting the field of discrete mathematics. This model allows to identify their proving processes in problem-solving, involving the manipulation of tangible objects, based on the audiovisual data collected. The model is described in three steps. The first one involves selecting observables relating to the actions and strategies linked to the proving process identified in the mathematical analysis that we wish to identify in the students' mathematical activity. The second one concerns the retranscription and encoding of their activity in relation to the choice of actions performed. Finally, the last one involves analysing the retranscriptions of their activity and comparing them with the strategies identified in the mathematical analysis, to find similarities in the proving processes used to solve the problem.