Learn Math With Own Example Space
G. Polya / Paul Halmos advocate getting math students to construct not just one but classes of examples to:
1. Extend & enrich own Example Spaces;
2. Develop full appreciation of concepts, definitions, techniques that they are taught.
[Polya, Halmos, Feynman]: they collect and build a personal ‘repertoire’ of “Examples Space” (include counter-examples) for each abstract math idea, which they can relate to a concrete object.
Examples:
Group abelian = (Z,+)
Ring = Z
Principal Ideal = nZ
Equivalence Relation = mod (n)
Cosets = {3Z, 1+3Z, 2+3Z}
…