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Effective Teaching of Abstract Algebra

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Subject- Mathematics
Topic- Effective Teaching of Abstract Algebra
University Name- Rice University

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Effective Teaching of Abstract Algebra
Abstract Algebra is one of the important bodies of knowledge that the mathematically educated
person should know at least at the introductory level. Indeed, a degree in mathematics always
contains a course covering these concepts. Unfortunately, abstract algebra is also seen as an
extremely difficult body of knowledge to learn since it is so abstract. Leron and Dubinsky, in
their paper ¡§An Abstract Alzebra Story¡¨, penned the following two statements, summarizing
comments that are often heard from both teacher and student alike.
1."The teaching of abstract algebra is a disaster, and this remains true almost independently of
the quality of the lectures." (Leron and Dubinsky agree with this statement.)
2."There's little the conscientious math professor can do about it. The stuff is simply too hard for
most students. Students are not well-prepared and they are unwilling to make the effort to learn
this very difficult material." (Leron and Dubinsky disagree with this statement.)(Leron and
Dubinsky, p. 227)
Thus the question is raised: if there is something the "conscientious math professor can do about"
the seemingly disastrous results in the learning of algebra, what is it that we can do? As a teacher
of undergraduate mathematics, I want and need to know what these effective methods of
teaching abstract algebra are.
Leron and Dubinsky's paper referred to above and papers resulting from their research contain
the bulk of literature that I reviewed. In this paper, they summarize their
experimental, constructivist approach to teaching abstract algebra. Among the classroom
activities are computer activities, work in teams, individual work, class discussion, and
sometimes a mini-lecture summarizing the results of student work (which by this time is familiar
to them), providing definitions, theorems, and proofs in their abstract forms.
The computer activities use the ISETL programming language. As an example of its use,
students write a program implementing the group axioms. They then can enter what they

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? Subject- Mathematics ? Topic-?Effective Teaching of Abstract Algebra University Name- Rice University Effective Teaching of Abstract Algebra? Abstract Algebra is one of the important bodies of knowledge that the mathematically educated person should know at least at the introductory level. Indeed, a degree in mathematics always contains a course covering these concepts. Unfortunately, abstract algebra is also seen as an extremely difficult body of knowledge to learn since it is so abstract. Leron and Dubinsky, in their paper ??An Abstract Alzebra Story??, penned the following two statements, summarizing comments that are often heard from both teacher and student alike.? 1."The teaching of abstract algebra is a disaster, and this remains true almost independently of the quality of the lectures." (Leron and Dubinsky agree with this statement.)? 2."There's little the conscientious math professor can do about it. The stuff is simply too hard for most students. Students are not well-prepared and they are unwilling to make the effort to learn this very difficult material." (Leron and Dubinsky disagree with this statement.)(Leron and Dubinsky, p. 227)? Thus the question is raised: if there is something the "conscientious math professor can do about" the seemingly disastrous results in the learning of algebra, what is it that we can do? As a teacher of undergraduate?mathematics, I want and need to know what these effective methods of teaching abstract alge ...
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