• Instructor: Xiao Xiao
• Email: xixiao@utica.edu
• Office: 109 DePerno Hall
• Office hour: MWF 11:30am-1:00pm
• Course notes: You can download them in Canvas.
• Class time: MWF 9:30am-10:20am at Hubbard Hall 212
• Useful Links: Canvas, WriteLaTeX, Homework Template

• Textbook: We will not use a textbook, but rather a task-sequence adopted for inquiry-based learning. The task-sequence is written by me, adapted from notes of Margaret Morrow and David Clark, and it is available on this page. You are expected to work out all the tasks as the semester progresses.

• Course description: Introduction to Abstract Algebra covers basic group theory. We will discuss the following concepts in this course: groups, subgroups, abelian groups, normal subgroups, product groups, quotient groups, group homomorphisms, and group isomorphisms. Standard examples such as cyclic groups, dihedral groups, and classical theorems such as Lagrange's Theorem and the First Isomorphism Theorem will be discussed.

• Learning objectives: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to do the following within the topics of groups:
  • Read expository textbook.
  • Provide examples and counterexamples.
  • Perform needed computations.
  • Construct concise and correct proof.

• Class organization: This course will likely be different from any other math course you have taken before. As an instructor, I will not be lecturing most of the time although I love lecturing very much. Scientific research shows that most people do not learn mathematics by listening, instead, they learn by doing it! I am sure you have said to yourself before "It looked so easy when the professor was doing it, but now I am confused when I have to do it by myself." Why? Because the knowledge belongs to your professor and does not belong to you. You do not learn the knowledge simply by hearing it once or twice from somebody else. In order for you to have a more thorough understanding of basic group theory, we will incorporate ideas from an educational philosophy called the Moore method (after R. L. Moore). More precisely, we will use the modified Moore method, also known as inquiry-based learning. Most of the time during the class, students will be presenting proofs of theorems that they have produced by themselves, and not by other people or textbooks. A significant portion of your grade will be determined by how much mathematics you produce.

• You should not look to resources outside the context of this course for help. That is, you should not be consulting the web, other texts, other faculty, or students outside of our course. On the other hand, you may use each other, the course notes, me, and your own intuition.

• Regular attendance is expected and is vital to success in this course, but you will not explicitly be graded on attendance. Yet, repeated absences may impact your participation grade.

• This course is designated as Writing Intensive by the Committee of Writing of Utica College. Informal writings consist of journals and daily homework. Formal writings consist of weekly homework and portfolios. See below for more information on these assignments.

• Daily Homework: It will be assigned each class period, and students are expected to complete (or try their best to complete) each assignment before walking into the next class period. All assignments should be carefully, clearly, and cleanly written. Among other things, this means your work should include proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. You will almost always write a draft before you write down the final argument, so do yourself a favor and get in the habit of differentiating your scratch work from your submitted assignment.

• Weekly Homework: In addition to the Daily Homework, you will also be required to submit two formally written proofs each week. You may choose any two problems marked with * that were turned in during a given week to submit the following week. For example, you may choose any two problems marked with a * that were turned in during week 2 for the second Weekly Homework assignment. These problems are due in week 3. Beginning with the second Weekly Homework, you will be required to type up your submission. You should type your Weekly Homework assignments using LaTeX. Look below for more information on LaTeX. The Weekly Homework assignments are subject to the following rubric:

Grade	Criteria
4	This is correct and well-written mathematics!
3	This is a good piece of work, yet there are some mathematical errors or some writing errors that need addressing.
2	There is some good intuition here, but there is at least one serious flaw and/or there are too many grammatical mistakes.
1	I don’t understand this, but I see that you have worked on it; come see me!
0	I believe that you have not worked on this problem enough or you didn’t submit any work or the work is not original and came from the internet or some other external source.

Any Weekly Homework problems that receive a score of 1, 2, or 3 can be resubmitted within one week after the corresponding problem was returned to the class. The final grade on the problem will be the average of the original grade and the grade on the resubmission. Please label the assignment as “Resubmission” on top of any problem that you are resubmitting and keep separate from any other problems that you are turning in.

Unlike a traditional Moore method course, you are allowed and encouraged to work together on homework. However, each student is expected to turn in his or her own work. In general, late homework will not be accepted. However, you are allowed to turn in up to 3 homework assignments (daily or weekly) late with no questions asked. Unless you have made arrangements in advance with me, homework turned in after class will be considered late. Your overall homework grade is worth 20% of your final grade.

Presentations

• Though the atmosphere in this class should be informal and friendly, what we do in the class is serious business. In particular, the presentations made by students are to be taken very seriously since they spearhead the work of the class.

• The problems chosen for presentations will come from the Daily Homework. After a student has presented a proof that the class agrees is sufficient, I will often call upon another student in the audience to recap what has happened in the proof and to emphasize the salient points.

• In order to make presentations go smoothly, presenters need to write out the proof in detail and go over the major ideas and transitions, so that he or she can make the proof clear to others.

• The purpose of presentations is not to prove to me that the presenter has done the problem. It is to make the ideas of the proof clear to the other students.

• Presenters need to write in complete sentences, using proper English and mathematical grammar. Here are some suggestions on how to write a proper proof.

• Fellow students are allowed to ask questions at any point and it is the responsibility of the presenter to answer those questions to the best of his or her ability.

• Since the presentation is directed at the students, the presenter should frequently make eye contact with the students in order to address questions when they arise and also be able to see how well the other students are following the presentation.

• Presentations will be graded using the rubric below.

Grade	Criteria
4	Completely correct and clear proof or solution.
3	Proof has minor technical flaws, some unclear language, or is lacking some details. Essentially correct.
2	A partial explanation or proof is provided but a significant gap still needs to be filled to reach a full solution or proof.
1	Minimal progress has been made that includes relevant information & could lead to a proof or solution.
0	You were completely unprepared.

However, you should not let the rubrics deter you from presenting if you have an idea about a proof that you would like to present, but you are worried that your proof is incomplete or you are not confident your proof is correct. You will be rewarded for being courageous and sharing your creative ideas! Yet, you should not come to the board to present unless you have spent time thinking about the problem and have something meaningful to contribute.

• In each class, a sorted class list produced by a computer program will be shown before presentations. Students whose ranks are high in the list have higher priority to choose problems. The sorted list is not produced randomly. It takes three factors into consideration:
  
  • The number of past presentations: the more one presented in the past, the lower one is on the list.
  • The quality of past presentations: the better one presented in the past, the lower one is on the list.
  • Recentness of past presentations: the more recently one has presented, the lower one is on the list.

• A student can choose not to present on a day when he or she has a high rank in the sorted list. This is called a "pass". No one shall "pass" for two consecutive classes. If you need help to prepare presentations, see me during office hours as soon as possible.

• In order to receive a passing grade on the presentation portion of your grade, you must present at least twice prior to each exam (2 midterms and 1 final) for a total of at least six times during the semester. Your grade on your presentations, as well as your level of interaction during student presentations, are worth 20% of your overall grade.

• The object is to maintain a current account of the work we do. Every exercise, proposition, lemma, theorem and corollary that we encounter is to be included in your portfolio. Each entry in the portfolio is intended to be complete and polished. Do not include scratch work.

• Each of us will develop her or his own mathematical voice in this class. Not every solution will look the same. However, the form of the portfolio should be fairly standardized. It will include a cover sheet with your name on it. Begin each write-up with the statement of an exercise, a proposition, a lemma, a theorem or a corollary, followed by your solution or proof. Some write-ups will be two lines long, others may be several pages. You can use the filler paper (the same you use for Daily Homework) to write up your solution. If you have done a perfect job in your Daily Homework, then you can just insert the page into your portfolio. Though in most cases, you will have to improve your original work.

• The portfolio will be collected three times: Monday, February 24, Friday, April 4, and Monday, May 12, 2014, at the final exam.

• Because you will have already know whether your solutions or proofs are correct or not by discussing them during presentations and by having them graded as Daily and Weekly Homework, portfolios will be graded solely on completeness and clarity. Clear and complete portfolios will earn a check mark, all others will be asked to resubmit within a week. Keep your portfolio current as you work, it will be too much effort to get it all organized and collated the night before it is due.

• At the end of the semester, portfolios with three check marks will earn the full 15% possible. Two check marks will earn 10%, one check mark will earn 5% and no check marks will earn 0%. 

• In the end, you will walk away with an organized and complete collection of your work on which you can look back with pride.

Examinations

Journals

LaTeX

Evaluation

• Your final grade will be determined by the scores of your homework, presentations/participation, portfolio, journals, and exams.

Category	Weight
Homework	15%
Presentations/Participation	20%
Portfolio	15%
Journals	5%
Midterm Exam 1	15%
Midterm Exam 2	15%
Final Exam	15%

Dishonesty

I have zero tolerance on dishonesty. Any forms of dishonesty such as copying homework or cheating on quizzes and examinations, will result in zero credit for that particular assignment, and will be reported to the Academic Standards Committee. The highest penalty a student can receive is "F for cheating" for the course. There might be additional sanctions by the Academic Standards Committee such as dismissal from the college.

Disability

Any student who has need of special accommodations in this class due to a documented disability should speak with me as soon as possible, preferably within the first two weeks of class. You should also contact Kateri Henkel, Director of Learning Services in the Academic Support Services Center (315-792-3032 or khenkel@utica.edu) in order to determine eligibility for services and to receive an accommodation letter. We will work with you to help you in your efforts to master the course content in an effective and appropriate way.