Abstract:

One of the many challenges facing teachers of mathematics is to help students to find meaning in the symbols, procedures and problems of mathematics. While there is no doubt that teachers of other subjects face challenges in making their disciplines meaningful to students, the obstacles in mathematics education seem to be much greater. What is it about mathematics in general, and algebra in particular, that tends to make it less accessible to students than other subjects? The purpose of this paper is to examine the important role of abstraction in the teaching and learning of mathematics, with a particular emphasis on algebra. First, the differences between mathematical language and the use of language in other disciplines will be discussed. Next, a conceptual framework focused on helping students develop abstract algebraic thinking will be presented. Finally, examples will be provided of ways to ease the transition from concrete models to the use of symbols in order to help students become more fluent in the abstract language of algebra.

Keywords:

Mathematics Education, Algebra, STEM.