A Trio of Courses to Support Mathematics Transfer Students’ Development of Professional Vision

Sarah A Roberts,Hannali Pajela

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11728

Abstract

This study explored the development of professional vision as related to transfer students becoming upper division, four-year mathematics students. We drew from qualitative focus groups with 21 participants at a four-year research university, who were enrolled in a trio of concurrent transitional mathematics courses. We examined the development of professional vision in three areas: engaging in proof and problem solving, being a member of a university mathematics community, and finding a future in mathematics. We found that students developed professional vision related to proof and problem solving, including experiences that were more abstract, more proof-based, and more problem solving-based. Development of community as part of the students’ professional vision was embedded throughout the cohort model, a noteworthy aspect of the trio of courses. Finally, students’ professional vision around finding a future in mathematics developed around future careers in mathematics, as well as students’ access to and knowledge of future career opportunities. Ultimately, diminished timelines exacerbated many of students’ struggles, as related to professional vision or otherwise.

Highlights

A key bridge to supporting the United States’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is understanding the transfer pipeline of STEM majors from community colleges to four-year universities
This study explored the development of professional vision as related to transfer students becoming upper division, four-year mathematics students
This study was useful as we considered the development of our novice mathematics students and their development of mathematics professional vision, because our methodology mirrored Mustonen and Hakkarainen’s (2015), in that we asked for the students to reflect on their development of professional development through their participation in focus groups and interviews, similar to how these researchers had their participants reflect through interviews and diaries

Summary

Introduction

A key bridge to supporting the United States’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is understanding the transfer pipeline of STEM majors from community colleges to four-year universities. While there is more general scholarship about transfer students (e.g., Melguizo et al, 2011), there is far less written about the unique experiences of undergraduate transfer mathematics students from community colleges to four-year universities. Must transfer mathematics students face the transfer student experience, they face another transition: the transition to proof and higher-level mathematics. These experiences and activities at universities are starkly different from their prior schooling experiences (Moore, 1994). Even with many universities offering transfer to proof classes, this content remains a significant challenge for students (e.g., Thoma & Nardi, 2017) and a barrier to their retention

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