ERIC Number: EJ1027167
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-6065
EISSN: N/A
A Symbolic Dance: The Interplay between Movement, Notation, and Mathematics on a Journey toward Solving Equations
Hewitt, Dave
Mathematical Thinking and Learning: An International Journal, v16 n1 p1-31 2014
This article analyzes the use of the software Grid Algebra with a mixed ability class of 21 nine-to-ten-year-old students who worked with complex formal notation involving all four arithmetic operations. Unlike many other models to support learning, Grid Algebra has formal notation ever present and allows students to "look through" that notation and interpret it either in terms of physical journeys on a grid or in terms of mathematical operations. A dynamic fluidity was found between the formal notation, imagery of movements on a grid, and the process of mathematical operations. This fluidity is interpreted as a "dance" between these three. The significant way in which this dynamic took place reflects the scaffolding and fading offered by the software, which was crucial to the students' fluency with formal notation well beyond what has been reported from students of that age.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Mathematical Logic, Problem Solving, Equations (Mathematics), Computer Software, Algebra, Arithmetic, Computer Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), Coding, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Mathematics, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A