- Ferrara, F. (2014). how multimodality works in mathematical activity: Young children graphing motion. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 12(4), 917-939.
If you have a problem like this in front of you:
3x^2+5x-6=0
You can perceive the solution in different ways by imagining the process in your mind. In order to understand the role that imagination plays in multimodality, the author the descriptive analysis of the work of one child, Benny, who constructs mathematical meanings in an activity involving graphs.
The author acknowledges the complexity in the construction of mathematical meaning. It is claimed that different sensorial modalities become integral parts of students’ cognitive processes.
Drawing upon research on gestures and other bodily activities in mathematics teaching and learning, the author moves beyond the fact that multimodality takes place during the learning, but rather stresses how multimodal cognition occurs in relation to the interplay of perceptual, bodily and imaginary experiences of elementary students. According to the theory of embodiment, students literally utilize their bodies to think, and some recent neuroscientific studies explain that sensory modalities like vision, touch, hearing, and so on are actually integrated with each other and with motor control and planning. The author argues that imagining plays a critical role in any perceptual and motor activity, including in mathematics learning.
Drawing upon research on gestures and other bodily activities in mathematics teaching and learning, the author moves beyond the fact that multimodality takes place during the learning, but rather stresses how multimodal cognition occurs in relation to the interplay of perceptual, bodily and imaginary experiences of elementary students. According to the theory of embodiment, students literally utilize their bodies to think, and some recent neuroscientific studies explain that sensory modalities like vision, touch, hearing, and so on are actually integrated with each other and with motor control and planning. The author argues that imagining plays a critical role in any perceptual and motor activity, including in mathematics learning.
This is a very complicated piece for me as I haven’t come across anything like this before. First, it involves an area (multimodality) that I am not familiar with; and secondly, I do not quite comprehend its methodology. The way the author interprets the gestures made by the student Benny is so detailed that it not only enables me to vividly replay the scene but also makes me look into the approach of microanalysis. As an example, “on the one side, pointing with the left hand, he conveys positions on the trajectory, as demonstrated by the head and the torso turned towards the line (by the way, the left hand is the closest one to the space where motion was performed)”.
However, sometimes I have to stop and ask myself how robust the interpretation is. For example, in Benny’s expression that “I go [left hand running t-axis to the left end, body shifting from right to left], I arrived here [left hand pointing to the left end] and this piece came “ The author explains that this happens from the point of view of the child and according to Benny’s experiences (“I went”, “I arrived”) (p. 927). I might consider some other factors involved in the expression, such as the influence of teaching, as in my teaching experience, I notice that students sometimes unconsciously mimic teacher’s instruction style (if teacher uses the expression “let us start here and move there and they mimic “let me start here”) when they are asked to explain their solutions.
However, sometimes I have to stop and ask myself how robust the interpretation is. For example, in Benny’s expression that “I go [left hand running t-axis to the left end, body shifting from right to left], I arrived here [left hand pointing to the left end] and this piece came “ The author explains that this happens from the point of view of the child and according to Benny’s experiences (“I went”, “I arrived”) (p. 927). I might consider some other factors involved in the expression, such as the influence of teaching, as in my teaching experience, I notice that students sometimes unconsciously mimic teacher’s instruction style (if teacher uses the expression “let us start here and move there and they mimic “let me start here”) when they are asked to explain their solutions.
Question:
With the rapid change in digital and Internet technology, other than text books and worksheet, do you anticipate any other learning modes will prevail in schools?
