Abstract: As students transition to upper-level mathematics courses, their ability to read mathematics (in particular proofs) becomes progressively more important to their success. However, the majority of proof education research has focused on writing rather than reading mathematical proofs. We report on a joint research program that the authors implemented that leveraged methods borrowed from reading psychology. That research furthered what is known about students’ reading of proof comprehension processes, and in particular, the roles equations play students reading. We then discuss some of the research trajectories that branched off from this original work.