Body‐based activities in secondary geometry: An analysis of learning and viewpoint. (30th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Smith, Carmen Petrick
• Is Part Of: School science and mathematics. Volume 118:Number 5(2018)
• Page Start: 179
• Page End: 189
• Publication Date: 2018-03-30
• Subjects: geometry -- learning processes -- manipulatives -- math/math education -- representation -- teachers and teaching; Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Periodicals; Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Periodicals; 507.12
• DOI: 10.1111/ssm.12279
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0036-6803

Abstract

Abstract: Body‐based activities have the potential to support mathematics learning, but we know little about the impact they have in the classroom. This study compares high school geometry students learning through either body‐based or analogous non‐body‐based activities over the course of a two‐week unit on similarity. Pre‐ and post‐tests revealed that while students in both conditions showed gains in content area comprehension over the course of the study, the body‐based condition showed significantly greater gains. Further, there were differences in the language students used to describe the learning activities at the end of the unit that may have contributed to the differences in learning gains. The students in the body‐based condition included more mathematical and nonmathematical details in their recollections. Additionally, students in the body‐based condition were more likely to recall their experiences from a first‐person perspective, while students in the control condition were more likely to use a third‐person perspective.