STRATEGIES OF REDUCTION OF ABSTRACTION IN ABSTRACT ALGEBRA

Abstract

This article is based on the study, which tries to unpack strategies of reduction of abstraction in learning abstract algebra from learners’ perspective. Ethnography was used to collect the required information. The study found the strategies of reduction of abstraction in abstract algebra are: making sense and meaning through previous experiences and existing knowledge an analogical creation of mental image, using first person language in course of doing mathematics by students as teachers do in the classroom for logical arguments, focusing on “symbol” or some mathematical entity to manage abstraction for their idiosyncratic understandings of abstract mathematical structure rather than the reflective thinking, using students own idiosyncratic figures to reduce the degrees of complexity of mathematical concepts. This study can lead teachers of abstract algebra to a new awareness of their teaching strategies and their practices.