Learning a proof is similar to learning a new language: this is the assumption on which I built my current class project. It is not enough for one to read a new word’s description in a dictionary in order to learn it: one needs to encounter that word in different sentences and in different contexts. I relied on this learning model when I designed the class project I describe in this paper. Once a proof style is abstracted into a category or a proof template, there is a chance that at a later stage that proof will be exported and applied onto a different context.  I wanted students to build a special dictionary for the proof types they are learning, to classify them and use them and recognize what situations they would best apply to. I hoped that this activity would give the students an opportunity to take ownership of a mathematical topic. My main goal was to have them work on a long-term project where they would invest personally in mathematics and develop the tool of investigating problems. This platform that I created showed that it could provide what common problem sets and exams cannot provide.

proofs, abstract algebra, portfolios, journals, student centeredness didactics, mathematical reasoning, journal writing.