Action Proof: Analyzing Elementary School Students Informal Proving Stages through Counter-examples

Abstract

Both female and male elementary school students have difficulty doing action proof by using manipulative objects to provide conjectures and proof of the truth of a mathematical statement. Counter-examples can help elementary school students build informal proof stages to propose conjectures and proof of the truth of a mathematical statement more precisely. This study analyzes the action proof stages through counter-examples stimulation for male and female students in elementary schools. The action proof stage in this study focuses on three stages: proved their primitive conjecture, confronted counter-examples, and re-examined the conjecture and proof. The type of research used is qualitative with a case study approach. The research subjects were two of the 40 fifth-grade students selected purposively. The research instrument used is the task of proof and interview guidelines. Data collection techniques consist of Tasks, documentation, and interviews. The data analysis technique consists of three stages: data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The analysis results show that at the stage of proving their primitive conjecture, the conjectures made by female and male students through action proofs using manipulative objects are still wrong. At the stage of confronted counter-examples, conjectures and proof made by female and male students showed an improvement. At the stage of re-examining the conjecture and proof, the conjectures and proof by female and male students were comprehensive. It can be concluded that the stages of proof of the actions of female and male students using manipulative objects through stimulation counter-examples indicate an improvement in conjectures and more comprehensive proof.