MATHEMATICS AS THE ART OF SEEING THE INVISIBLE

Jorge Soto-Andrade 1
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science Centre for Advanced Research in ducation !CAR " #niversity of Chile

The role of metaphors and the switch in cognitive modes in relation to visualization in learning and teaching mathematics is discussed, based on examples and case studies with students and teachers. We present some preliminary evidence supporting our claims that visualization requires the activation of various metaphors, that it is rather hampered than facilitated by traditional teaching in mathematics, but it is however a trainable capacity in teachers and students. INTRODUCTION $hen teaching mathematics to first year undergraduates %ho intend to ma&or in 'umanities or Social Sciences at the #niversity of Chile, %e usually as( them to concoct aphorisms to descri)e their ongoing e*perience of mathematics, as the course unfolds+ An often emerging aphorism is, -Mathematics is the art of seeing the invisi)le., a close (in to -/isuali0ation offers a method of seeing the unseen. !McCormic(, DeFanti, 1 2ro%n, 1345, p+ 6", ta(en up as leitmotiv in Arcavi !7886" %hen discussing the role of visual representations in the learning of mathematics+ At the other end of the spectrum, in a recent paper !Fau* 1 9ates, 788:" on supersymmetric representation theory, in theoretical physics, %e read,
;he use of sym)ols to connote ideas %hich defy simple ver)ali0ation is perhaps one of the oldest of human traditions+ ;he Asante people of $est Africa have long )een accustomed to using simple yet elegant motifs (no%n as Adin(ra sym)ols, to serve &ust this purpose+ $ith a nod to this tradition, %e christen our graphical sym)ols as

-Adin(ras+. <ater, =rof+ 9ates !the first Afro-American to )e a%arded an endo%ed Chair in =hysics in a ma&or #S university", referring to the unsolved mathematical pro)lems posed )y superstring theory, tells us further !Shy science star shines, 788>",
? have )een %orried a)out them and having some ideas a)out ne% %ays to approach these pro)lems+ And ? have developed the math as topology, using pictures %ith coloured strings and dots !loo(ing &ust li(e macram@"+ All the information from the eAuations is in
1

partially supported )y FBCD F =ro&ect D8>i1876 and =2C;- CBC?CD;, =ro&ect C? -8E

these pictures %hich %e have called adinkras. Adin(ra is an Ashanti !$est African" %ord meaning sym)ol %ith hidden meaning+ Bnce you create these pictures from the eAuations, there are things you can see more clearly than you can from a page of figures and num)ers ?n Fig+ 1 %e see some e*amples of classical Adin(ras and in Fig+ 7, their analogues designed )y 9ates and colla)orators+

Figure 1

Figure 7 ?n the latter, %hich sho%s the folding of a cu)e, %hite nodes stand for )osons, )lac( nodes for fermions+ 2etter late than never, the (ey role played )y visuali0ation in the teaching and learning of mathematics has received slo% )ut increasing recognition in the last decades+ See =resmeg !788>" for a comprehensive revie%+ Co%adays its rather lo% status in mathematics and mathematics education is )eing progressively upgraded+ ?n this paper %e intend to e*plore, through e*amples, the didactical role of visuali0ation in mathematics together %ith its interplay %ith metaphors and transiting amongst cognitive modes+ $e )uild for that on our previous research and e*perimental findings !Soto-Andrade, 788>, 7885" concerning the role of metaphors and cognitive modes in the teaching-learning of mathematics+ After setting up our tentative theoretical frame%or(, %e put for%ard our main %or(ing hypotheses related to necessity of metaphor activation in visuali0ation and %e proceed to report on some specific e*amples of the role of metaphors and cognitive modes in the process of visuali0ation+ ?n this %ay %e get some preliminary e*perimental evidence to support our %or(ing hypotheses and also suggestions for further research along these lines, that %e discuss in the final section+ 7

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Nature and Role o Meta!"or# ?t has )een progressively recogni0ed during the last decade !Araya, 7888F nglish, 1335F <a(off 1 CGHe0, 7888F =resmeg, 1335F Sfard, 1335F Soto-Andrade, 788>, 7885 and many others" that metaphors are not &ust rhetorical devices, )ut also po%erful cognitive tools that help us to )uild or to grasp ne% concepts, as %ell as to solve pro)lems in an efficient and friendly %ay+ ;hose are indeed -conceptual metaphors. !<a(off 1 CGHe0, 7888" , that appear as mappings from a -source domain. into a -target domain. %hich carry the inferential structure of the first domain into that one of the second, and ena)le us to understand the second, usually more a)stract and opaAue, in terms of the first, more do%n-to-earth and transparent+ Co$n%t%&e 'ode#( Tran#%t%n$ or under#tand%n$ A cognitive mode (sometimes called cognitive style) is defined nowadays as ones preferred way to think, perceive and recall, in short, to cognize. It reveals itself, for instance, when we try to solve problems. This concept emerged from work by Luria (1973) and de La Garanderie (1989). Flessas and <ussier !788E", )uilding on this previous %or(, have given a first classification of cognitive modes !-styles cognitifsI. in French", including an operational description of %hat they call the four )asic cognitive modes and have pointed out to their impact on the teaching-learning process+ ;o generate the : )asic cognitive modes, they com)ine 7 dichotomies, ver)al J non ver)al and seAuential J non seAuential !or simultaneous", closely related to the left J right )rain hemisphere dichotomy and to the frontal J occipital dichotomy+ !<uria, 1356"+ ;his gives the follo%ing ta)le ;a)le 1 ;he : cognitive modes S K# C;?A< CBCS K# C;?A< / R2A< S-/ CS-/ CBC/ R2A< S-C/ CS-C/

E)a'!le( Ho* +an ,ou +"e+- t"at ,ou "a&e t"e #a'e nu'.er o %n$er# %n ,our "and#/ Dou can readily reali0e ho% to chec( this fact using the : cognitive modes !SotoAndrade, 7885" V%#ual%0at%on a# an e'er$ent !ro+e## According to Arcavi !7886",
/isuali0ation is the a)ility, the process and the product of creation, interpretation, use of

and reflection upon pictures, images, diagrams, in our minds, on paper or %ith technological tools, %ith the purpose of depicting and communicating information, thin(ing a)out and developing previously un(no%n ideas and advancing understandings+

?n a systemic approach to the classroom, it may )e argued that learning itself appears as an emergent process, that may encompass visuali0ation to a greater or lesser degree+ Co%adays there is %idespread interest in understanding ho% visuali0ation interacts %ith the didactics of mathematics, and ho% %e could enhance its usefulness in mathematics education !$oolner, 788:F =resmeg, 788>" ?n %hat follo%s %e adhere mainly to the frame%or( laid )y <a(off and CGHe0 !7888" for metaphors, Flessas and <ussier !788E" for cognitive modes and Arcavi !7886" and =resmeg !788>" for visuali0ation+ 1ROBLEMATICS AND O1EN 2UESTIONS $e claim that most in-service teachers are not familiar %ith either visuali0ation, metaphors or cognitive modes, in relation %ith their teaching of mathematics+ More precisely, Most teachers privilege the seAuential-ver)al cognitive mode, and devaluate visuali0ation+ ;hey are usually una)le to s%itch from one cognitive mode to another and -to see the invisi)le.+ Students seem to )e reluctant to visuali0e and to tac(le a pro)lem in a different cognitive mode that the one it came %rapped in+ ;hey have )ig trou)le visuali0ing, %hen they try to, after having )een -ro)oti0ed. to calculate )lindly+ ;he spectrum of availa)le metaphors of most teachers is too narro%+ ;hey %ould rarely have more than one metaphor for each mathematical concept or process and so they have trou)le creating -unloc(ing metaphors. or eliciting visuali0ation )y their students+ vidence for these claims arises from o)servation of group %or( and intervie%ing of more than 6888 in J service primary and secondary school teachers, since 7888+ ;he most significant reports have come out, in 788> J 7884, of E classes of 68 primary school teachers each, enrolled in a 1E months program aiming at upgrading their command of elementary mathematics+ Bn the other hand these primary school teachers have made the recurrent o)servation in their classrooms that from Eth grade on%ards the children are Auite una)le to ta(e advantage of visuali0ation %hen tac(ling a pro)lem+ ;heir feeling is that this is a result of the instruction the children have received from previous teachers, %hich tend to repress spontaneous visuali0ation in favour of rote learning of algorithms+ ;his pro)lematics leads naturally to some (ey Auestions regarding visuali0ation !cf+ =resmeg, 788>", :

$hat conversion processes are involved in a smooth transit amongst different cognitive modes, specially from seAuential-ver)al to simultaneousnonver)al, as an antidote to unimodal cognitionL $hat is the role of metaphors in the s%itching from one cognitive mode to another, necessary to visuali0ationL 'o% can teachers help learners to transit )et%een visual and ver)al cognitive modes, i+e+ )et%een the iconic and the sym)olic domain, for specific mathematical notionsIL

Re#ear+" ",!ot"e#e# Bur main %or(ing hypothesis is that metaphors and cognitive modes are (ey ingredients in a meaningful teaching-learning process+ ?n particular, %e claim that visuali0ation is elicited )y the activation of previous metaphors that entail a s%itch in the cognitive mode of the learner+ ;his applies specifically to visuali0ation understood as the a)ility to -see the invisi)le., typically in the case of arithmetical or alge)raic o)&ects and processes+ ;he situation may )e less clear cut in cases li(e the -rope around the earth pro)lem. !Arcavi, 7886, p+ 73 -68", for instance, %here %e imagine a rope laid around the circumference of the earth and as( ho% much longer should it )e if %e %ant to place it on si*-foot-high poles all the %ay+ Dou could argue that %hen you visuali0e )oth ropes around the earth and you deform their shape, from circular to sAuare, to see )etter %hat is going on and to solve the pro)lem, you are not activating any metaphor, )ecause you remain in the geometric realm+ 'o%ever, %e can also point out, that usually %e transit first from the -concrete. setting of the pro)lem to a sym)olic one, )y %riting the formula for )oth perimeters involved+ Bne calculates the ans%er )ut one is not really convinced unless one really sees it+ ;hen a metaphor activates that allo%s you to transit from the alge)raic formulation to the -sAuare %ith rounded-off corners. visuali0ation+ ?t is also one of our %or(ing hypothesis that the competences regarding multimodal cognition, use and creation of metaphors and visuali0ation are traina)le and that measura)le progress can )e achieved in one semester course or even in a one %ee( %or(shop+ ;his, in spite of the strongly unimodal !seAuential-ver)al" training most teachers have )een e*posed to+ Regarding students, our %or(ing hypothesis is that they %ould significantly improve the Auality and ro)ustness of their learning if they can dra% from a suita)le spectrum of metaphors and approach pro)lems in a multimodal %ay, emphasi0ing visuali0ation+ $e present )elo% some e*amples, tested in teaching mathematics courses for several years, to various audiences of students, to illustrate the didactical use of different cognitive modes, in particular visual ones, for approaching mathematical o)&ects and E

their interplay %ith the use of metaphors+

RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOG3

;he )ac(ground for our e*perimental research consisted in several courses, to %it, 4 Mat"e'at%+# 5, A one semester general mathematics course, given since 7888 to first year students of the 2achelor =rogram in 'umanities and Social Sciences at the #niversity of Chile+ ;his course aims at introducing the students to the mathematical %ay of thin(ing and cognitive attitudes of mathematics+ ;he class has 68 to :8 students+ *periments are carried out during the lessons !t%ice 38 minutes %ee(ly" and during e*ams !7 hours each, : in a semester"+ <essons are interactive, although students do not usually engage in group %or(+ 4 Rando' *al-# %n 6Meta!"orland7 81a#eo# al a0ar en el !a9# de la# 'et: ora#;( A one semester optional mathematics course, open to all students of the #niversity of Chile+ ;he aim of the course is to introduce students of all suits to the po%er of metaphorical thin(ing in mathematics, %hile performing a -random %al(. through several (ey topics, li(e randomness, symmetry, infinity and the systemic approach ;he class had 58 students in 788> and :8 in 7885+ <essons consist mainly of group %or(, in small groups of : to E students+ Activities and pro)lematic situations - M la 2rousseau !1334" - are proposed, to )e tac(led in groups )y the students+ 4 Nu'.er#( Bne yearly module !778 hrs appro*+", for E classes of 68 primary school teachers, in the post-graduate program of the #niversity of Chile, for in-service primary teachers %ho did not ma&or in mathematics in their training+ ;he aim of this module is to revie% the mathematics as %ell as the didactics of num)ers, specially fractions, ratios, decimal and )inary description of num)ers+ ;he teachers usually %or( in interactive sessions, forming small groups of 6 to : each+ ;he methodology consisted in o)serving the students and teachers, as they carried out various activities, as in the e*amples descri)ed )elo%, that %ere proposed during lessons, group %or( sessions and as a part of e*ams and diagnostics+ Records of this o)servation comprised videos, %ritten and dra%n production of the students and some transcriptions+ B)servations include those reported )y the teachers, of their o%n classes+ ?n the follo%ing, -students and teachers. refers to students in the first t%o courses and primary school teachers in the third course+ E<1ERIMENTAL ACTIVITIES AND 1RELIMINAR3 RESULTS( E)a'!le =( Su' o How much is !o*er# o =>? !"# $ %!"#&' $ %!"#&( $ %!"#&# )

*ould you calculate or estimate its value, without much toil)

>

Bf course, you could use your calculator, to get 8+6678 %ith four digits !seAuentialver)al mode"+ 2ut do yo really -see. that the sum is very close to 1N6L 'o% could the students tac(le this pro)lem in a nonver)al - seAuential mode firstL An implicit or underlying metaphor %ould )e, -=roduct is area.+ So, they could try to represent, or visuali0e, 1N: as a su)-region or portion of a region that stands for the %hole, the unit+ Most students, and in-service teachers, try this visuali0ation !Fig+ 1"+ ;hen, as o)served )y our teachers in their classes, E th and >th graders tend to place !1N:"7 side )y side %ith the mar(ed fourth of the sAuare and so on !Figs+ : and E"+ Bnly roughly one out of ten teachers -see. spontaneously in this %ay that you are ta(ing one out of three -all the time.+ Some of them have a hard time -seeing. this, even after )eing told so+

Figure 6

Blder students and in-service teachers are more prone to place the smaller sAuares along the diagonal, as in Figure : Figure E Fig+ >+ ;hat %ay, they suddenly -see.+ Cotice that this last figure affords a truly nonseAuential !simultaneous" nonver)al approach to our sum+ ?n fact, if you %ant to couch it in %ords you could say that this affords a transparent %ay for I Figure > trisecting the sAuare using only sAuares, including an efficient estimate for the -remainder., in case you stop short of infinity+++ ?n our -Random $al(s. course some students concocted various visuali0ations, li(e the one illustrated in Fig+ 5, %here succesive transversal partitions reveal a &oint region that can )e seen to comprise almost 1N6 of the total area, if you also mar( its symmetrical t%in as in Fig+ 4+

Figure 5

Figure 4

?n Arcavi !7886" a different visuali0ation J %hose stage is the eAuilateral triangle - is recalled !Fig+ 3"+ ?n our case studies %ith first year university students, in-service

Figure 3

Figure 18

primary school teachers and their students !from Eth to 4th grade", this visuali0ation didnOt appear spontaneously as an alternative to the sAuare partition+ ?t only did after prompting+ Any%ay, once students and teachers got the idea of the eAuilateral triangle, the %hole procedure unfolded very smoothly !see Fig+ 18"+ E)a'!le @( Su' o !o*er# o =>AB ;hen %e suggested the case of the sum of po%ers of 1N6 instead of 1N:+ Students and teachers Auic(ly visuali0ed step%ise the triangles in Fig+ 11+

Figure 11 $hich are the ingredients of these visuali0ation processes, up to no%L Bur vie%point is that these visuali0ations emerge than(s to the activation of several metaphors+ ;he crucial one is the -=roduct is Area., or -Fractions are =ortions. metaphor, %hich develops into the -=o%ers of a Fraction arise from ?terated =artitions. metaphor+ ;hen the -Adding is putting together. metaphor comes into play+ $e argue that visuali0ation is grounded on these metaphors, %hich entail a s%itch in cognitive mode, from ver)al to nonver)al !visual" and finally, from seAuential to simultaneous+ ?ndeed, %hen the metaphor is activated, or -runs., a s%itch in cognitive mode arises, first from seAuential-ver)al to seAuential-nonver)al %hen %e represent our po%ers of 1N: one )y one, step%ise, and then to simultaneous-nonver)al, %hen %e -see. that our sum is almost 1N6+ Cotice that %hen %e compute it, %e come to this conclusion step%ise, )ut %hen %e visuali0e it, %e see it at a glance, truly in a simultaneousnonver)al mode+ ?t is a -ahaP. e*perience, that is unli(ely to occur %hen %e compute step%ise %ith the calculator+ E)a'!le @( Su' o !o*er# o =>CB How much is 1N E Q !1N E"7 Q !1N E"6 Q !1N E": Q !1N E"E L *an you calculate, or estimate the value of this sum) *an you +see, how much it should be) 4

=ractically minded students %ould fetch their calculator and get, +7 Q +7R7 Q +7R6 Q +7R: Q +7RE S 8+7:337, %hich is appro*imately +7E %ith an error less than +8881+ ;hose %ho li(e fractional yoga !a minority" %ould get 1NE Q 1N7E Q 1N17E Q 1N>7E Q 1N617E S !>7E Q 17E Q 7E Q E Q 1"N617E S 541N617E, %hich loo(s rather opaAue as a result+ After some pondering, they %ould reali0e ho%ever that -.! times # is (!'#, so that our unyielding fraction is very close to 1N : S 541 N 617:+ Br the other %ay around, since 617EN: S 541T , they can get 541N617E S !541T - T "N617E S 1N : J 1N617E S 1N : - 1N17E88 so that the value of our sum is 1N:, up to an error smaller than 1N18888+ So, either the decimal %ay or the fractional %ay, %e can calculate our sum+ 2oth %ays are ho%ever relentlessly ver)alseAuential and they definitely disgust many students, particularly those motivated )y the humanities or the social sciences+ 'o% could you -see. %hat is not visi)le in the preceding calculationL Figure 17

$hen so prompted, most students try to visuali0e 1NE in a pentagon, as in Fig+ 17+ 2ut then, they are stuc(P ;hey see no transparent %ay to partition an isosceles triangle into fifthsP $hat to doL ;o )e a)le to visuali0e %hat is less visi)le, %e need to change our underlying metaphorP A good idea is to revisit the more favoura)le case of the sum of po%ers of 1N:, How could we visualize our sum with the help of a different metaphor) After some pondering, Uarel, a student in our -Random %al(s. course, said that the %hole geometric visualisation in the sAuare reminded him of a fernV From this, after some discussion, the hydraulic tree in Fig+ 16 emerged+

Figure 16 3

?ndeed, the root of the tree stands for the unit sAuare, the coloured -son., for the coloured 1N: of the sAuare, the coloured grandson, for the coloured !1N:"7, etc+ $e imagine that 1 litre of %ater is poured into the root, and that it flo%s do%n%ards, splitting %ith eAuanimity into four fourths at each node+ $e collect the %ater coming out the leftmost duct, at all stages+ ;here are many possi)le %ays of representing !1N:" 7 in this hydraulic tree, the pro)lem is choosing the most transparent one for visuali0ing the value of our sum of po%ers of 1N:+ ;he one sho%n in Fig+ 16 %as preferred )y most students+

?t is Auite clear no%, that this visuali0ation carries over to the case of 1NE, or 1N6, or any 1Nn, and even furtherV $hat does this e*ample sho% usL Cotice that our -=roduct is area . metaphor forsa(es in the case of 1NE )ecause it doesnOt help us much to see that our sum is almost 1N :+ ;o visuali0e further %e need to s%itch to another metaphor for the product, one that %e have -met )efore., -=roduct is concatenation., i+ e+, - ;o multiply is to concatenate )ranchings+. Cotice that %hat %e have met )efore is J for instance - successive enlargements or reductions of a photographic print or image+ Specially %hen dealing %ith multiplication of fractions, this metaphor is very helpful+ ?t is closely related to the hydraulic metaphor or the pedestrian metaphor !SotoAndrade, 788>, 7885" So eventually, visuali0ation of closely related mathematical o)&ects or processes, may reAuire the activation of different (inds of metaphors, %ith different scopes+ E)a'!le ?( T"e nu'.er #eDuen+e( a Far Ea#t &%#ual%0at%on ?n Soto-Andrade !7885" %e reported on some preliminary results concerning the follo%ing challenge, posited to students and teachers, /s it possible to represent the usual numerical sequence, up to some number, in a non verbal and non sequential way) 0et us say the sequence 1, !, ', (, 2,3(. $e suggested first to try to represent this num)er seAuence in a less ver)al %ay than usual+ As a preliminary, %e proposed the )inary activity suggested in Soto-Andrade !788>", i+ e+ %e as( the students to get the )inary description of their num)er in the classroom, %ithout counting themselves first+ ;o do this, they &ust stand up, try to match up in pairs, chec( %hether QuickTime and a TIFF (LZW) decompressor are needed to see this picture. there is or not one -odd man out.+ ;hen the pairs do the same, and so on+ $hen the pairing game is over, %e &ust as( 18 Figure 1:

%hether there is an unmatched person, an unmatched pair, an unmatched Auadruplet, and so on+ ?f the ans%ers are, D S J CB J CB J D S J CB J D S, for instance, %e encourage the students to codify them in a less ver)al %ay+ ventually they rediscover the ? Ching !Di Jing" codification, a )ro(en line for CB, a continuous line for D S, or something eAuivalent+ ?f they dra% the lines from top to )ottom, they get the he*agram in the second column !from the left", > th ro%, in the sAuare arrangement sho%n in Fig+ 1:+ ;his arrangement, due to the Chinese philosopher and mathematician Shao Dong !1811-1855" represents e*actly the )inary seAuence of num)ers 8 to >6+ Students and teachers successfully completed this activity and most of them reported later having understood for the first time the )inary description of a num)er+ $e are then a)le to visuali0e our num)er seAuence as a seAuence of diagramsF ho%ever %e %ould li(e to push this visuali0ation even further, *ould we draw a picture that describes the whole situation in a non verbal and simultaneous way) 4o that 5ust a glance of it should be enough to reconstruct it correctly, and to get back from it the whole binary 3# hexagram sequence) Bn this challenge, %hich they tac(led in small groups, the primary school teachers did )etter than the first year 2achelor students, ?n a first class of 68 primary school teachers !7E female, E male", after 68 min+ %or(ing in groups, %hen prompted to s%itch to non seAuential cognitive style to descri)e the )inary he*agram seAuence, E teachers out of 68 came up %ith diagrams eAuivalent to the famous Shao DongOs Wiantian !2efore 'eaven" diagram, or its inverted form, illustrated in Figs+ 1E and 1>, respectively+

Figure 1E

Figure 1>

<ater, %e tried to chec( to %hat e*tent this image could )e perceived in a glance and reconstructed thereafter+ $e tested it %ith students of our first year Math 8 course !in a final e*am", and %ith third year M+ Sc+ Students !in an anonymous test", %ho had )een already e*posed to ? Ching and Shao DongOs )inary sAuare+

2Xr)ara Math 8

Francisca Math 8 7885 Figure 15, Dra%ings )y Math+ 8 students Myriam Math 8

9erardo Math 8 11 7885

2Xr)ara Math8

Figure 14, Dra%ings )y anonymous M+Sc+ students As the sample in Figs 15 and 14 sho%s, %e loo( at the same image )ut %e see Auite different thing+ Apparently %hat %e see, in this visuali0ation, depends heavily on our previous history and training+ Some case study %ith professional mathematicians and researchers in didactics gave also disparate reactions and performances+ Among mathematicians, alge)raists had a harder time than geometers, )ut one researcher in didactics of mathematics instantly -sa%. the )inary tree in Wian ;ian+ ?n fact, roughly one out of 18 of our students did so, sho%ing that this image may )e the oldest e*plicit emergence of the )inary tree in the history of man(ind+++ D%#+u##%on $e have sho%n, through several activities carried out in the classroom, ho% some classical mathematical o)&ects and pro)lematic situations may )e une*pectedly approached through various cognitive modes, in particular %ith different visuali0ations grounded in alternative metaphors+ $e have seen that it is possi)le to facilitate the activation of these less usual cognitive modes and the emergence of visuali0ation, even for in-service teachers having )een trained in a unimodal !ver)al-seAuential" %ay+ ?n fact, a high percentage of students as %ell as teachers %ere a)le, after some prompting, and initial effort, to )egin to visuali0e in %ays hitherto un(no%n to them+ ?n this %ay, some of them even rediscovered visuali0ations of familiar mathematical o)&ects, developed in other cultures !li(e the ancient Chinese, for instance", that favoured visuali0ation more than ours , -Bne image is %orth 18 888 %ords. Vthey said+ Bur teachers noticed freAuently that 6th or :th graders %ere more prone to visuali0e spontaneously, than 5th or 4th graders, %ho seemed to )e much more -ro)oti0ed. to calculate, %ith little drive to visuali0e+ ;his suggests that the a)ility to visuali0e is 17

rather repressed in children than stimulated, )y traditional mathematical education+ Bur o)servations seem to indicate ho%ever that multimodal cognitive approaches, visuali0ing, in particular, and transiting from one cognitive style to another, are traina)le, in students as %ell as in teachers, specially )y %or(ing in groups+ First person reports )y students and teachers )ear %itness of the impact and meaningfulness that this sort of cognitive e*perience has for them+ Moreover, %e should mention that some recent reports from our primary school teachers point out to dramatic improvements in the scores of their students in the last national assessment test !from 741 to 68: points, for instance, national average stagnating at 7:> points", after several months %or(ing %ith e*plicit metaphors and visuali0ations, )ut %ith no specific test oriented training+ ?t %ould )e interesting then to test and measure systematically the depth of learning that students may achieve %hen taught %ith ample use of visuali0ation, %ith the help of a )road spectrum of metaphors and various cognitive modes+ Re eren+e#
Araya, R+ !7888"+ 0a inteligencia matem6tica, Santiago, Chile, ditorial #niversitaria+ Arcavi, A+ !7886"+ ;he role of visual representations in the learning of mathematics, 7ducational 4tudies in 8athematics, 9'!6", 71E-7:+ 2rousseau, 9+ !1334"+ Th:orie des situations didactiques, 9reno)le, <a pens@e sauvage+ nglish, <+ ! d+" !1335"+ 8athematical reasoning ;nalogies, metaphors, and images, Mah%ah, CJ, <a%rence rl)aum Assoc+ =u)lishers+ Fau*, M+, 1 9ates, S+ J+ !788E"+ Adin(ras, A graphical technology for supersymmetric+ representation theory, <hys. =ev. >, 51, 8>E887+ Retrieved December 28, 2007, from http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0408004. Flessas, J+, 1 <ussier F+ !788E"+ +0a neuropsychologie de l?enfant,+ =aris, Dunod+ de <a 9aranderie, A+ !1343"+ 0es profils p:dagogiques. >iscerner les aptitudes scolaires + =aris, Yditions du Centurion+ <a(off, 9+, 1 CuHe0, F+ !7888"+ Where 8athematics comes from ) Ce% Dor(, 2asic 2oo(s+ <uria, A+ !1356"+ ;he %or(ing )rain+ An introduction to neuropsychology, Ce% Dor(, =enguin+ McCormic( 2+ '+, DeFanti ;+ A+, 1 2ro%n M+ D+ !1345"+ /isuali0ation in scientific computing, Definition, domain, and recommendations+ *omputer @raphics 71, 6-16 =resmeg, C+ C+ !1335"+ Reasoning %ith metaphors and metonymies in mathematics learning+ ?n <+ D+ nglish ! d.&, 8athematical reasoning ;nalogies, metaphors, and images, !pp+ 7>5-753"+ Mah%ah, Ce% Jersey, <a%rence rl)aum Ass+ =resmeg, C+ !788>"+ Research on visuali0ation in learning and teaching mathematics+ ?n A. 9uti@rre0, 1 =+ 2oero ! ds+", Handbook of research on the <sychology of 8athematics

16

7ducation <ast, present and future. Rotterdam, Sense =u)lishers+ Shy science star shines !788>, July 61"+ ;he #niversity of $estern Australia Ce%s, 7E!18",
p+ 4+

Sfard A+ !1335"+ *ommentary An metaphorical roots of conceptual growth. ?n <+ nglish ! d+", 8athematical reasoning ;nalogies, metaphors, and images , 663-651, <ondon, rl)aum+ Soto-Andrade, J+ !788>"+ #n monde dans un grain de sa)le, M@taphores et analogies dans lOapprentissage des maths+ ;nn. >idactique 4ciences *ogn+ 11, 176J 1:5+ Soto-Andrade, J+ !7885"+ Metaphors and cognitive styles in the teaching-learning of mathematics+ ?n D+ =itta-=anta0i, 1 J+ =hilippou ! ds+"+ <roceedings *7=87 E !pp+ 131788"+ Retrieved May 71, 7884, from http,NNerme%e)+free+frNC RM E)N $oolner, =+ !788:"+ A comparison of a visual-spatial approach and a ver)al approach to teaching mathematics+ ?n M+ J+ 'Zines, 1 A+ 2+ Fuglestad ! ds+", =roceedings of the 74th =M ?nternational Conference, : !pp+ ::3-:E>", 2ergen, Research centre for learning and teaching, Ce%castle #niversity+ Retrieved May 71, 7884, from http,NN%%%+emis+deNproceedingsN=M 74NRRNRR88>[$oolner+pdf

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