Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Science and Mathematics Education Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education
Identifying A Starting Point For The Guided Reinvention Of The Classification Of Chemically Important Symmetry Groups, Anna Marie Bergman
Identifying A Starting Point For The Guided Reinvention Of The Classification Of Chemically Important Symmetry Groups, Anna Marie Bergman
Dissertations and Theses
The study of abstract algebra is both required for most mathematics majors and notoriously difficult. Much of the mathematics education literature on investigating student thinking in abstract algebra highlights student struggles with understanding even the most fundamental concepts. The abstract nature of the content of the course has been credited as one of the contributors to student difficulties. While there have been various instructional innovations designed to support students in better understanding abstract algebra, and group theory in particular, they have not specifically focused on the issue of the abstract nature of the content. My dissertation study aimed to develop …
The Design And Validation Of A Group Theory Concept Inventory, Kathleen Mary Melhuish
The Design And Validation Of A Group Theory Concept Inventory, Kathleen Mary Melhuish
Dissertations and Theses
Within undergraduate mathematics education, there are few validated instruments designed for large-scale usage. The Group Concept Inventory (GCI) was created as an instrument to evaluate student conceptions related to introductory group theory topics. The inventory was created in three phases: domain analysis, question creation, and field-testing. The domain analysis phase included using an expert consensus protocol to arrive at the topics to be assessed, analyzing curriculum, and reviewing literature. From this analysis, items were created, evaluated, and field-tested. First, 383 students answered open-ended versions of the question set. The questions were converted to multiple-choice format from these responses and disseminated …