Qingyang Hu
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Vilma Mesa
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: School of Education / Education
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: Breakout room 2
Authors: Dora Hu, Saba Gerami, Vilma Mesa
Presenter: 3
Abstract
Despite research about student difficulties in learning Abstract Algebra and Linear Algebra, little research has been done to study the university mathematics instructors’ reactions and plans to alter their instruction plans to assist students with their difficulties. We aimed to answer to research questions: 1) What type of challenges in learning abstract algebra do students report? And 2) How do instructors react and respond to their students’ reported challenges? This study used students’ and teachers’ logs from six Abstract Algebra and two Linear Algebra classes taught by seven instructors in Fall 2021. Students were asked to list the difficulties they encountered in class in bi-weekly logs. The de-identified responses from students were then given to their respective instructors, to which they responded with what they have learned and how they might change their lesson planning based on this information. We found two types of student difficulties: content-specific and non-content-specific. Some examples of frequently mentioned content-specific difficulties include subgroups, groups, group isomorphisms, and rings for Abstract Algebra (We have yet to analyze the data for Linear Algebra). Some of the non-content-specific difficulties are writing or understanding proofs, the contents being too abstract, and the notations used. Most of the instructors were not surprised by the student difficulties as they expected them to be hard concepts and be part of the learning experience. We group how the instructors might change their plans into three types—strategies to implement, strategies in place, and no change. Some of the strategies to implement include clarifying content in class and providing more practice. The most common strategy in place is slowing down covering new content. This research explores the possibility of having a formative assessment loop between students and teachers that don’t penalize the students (like formal assessments).
Social Sciences
