Grounding Geometry Justifications in Concrete Embodied Experience: The Link Between Action and Cognition

• In Event: The Development of Mathematical Cognition: Multidisciplinary Approaches

Abstract

Research on how students learn foundational mathematical ideas related to number, fractions, and proportion has suggested that embodied action can support conceptual understanding (e.g., Abrahamson & Howsin, 2010; Martin & Schwartz, 2005). Here, we explore the role of body-based action in inductive and deductive justification in geometry. We present multimodal analyses of 6 undergraduate psychology students proving two conjectures after performing body-based action relevant or irrelevant to the justification. We find that these students drew on body-based resources, both implicitly and explicitly, when reasoning about geometric ideas. Embodied action can be a powerful tool in justification, as it allows abstract concepts from geometry to become grounded (Goldstone & Son, 2005; Nathan, 2008) in concrete, perceptual, bodily experience.

Authors

• Candace A. Walkington, Southern Methodist University

• Rachaya Srisurichan, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Mitchell J. Nathan, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Caroline Cassie-Marie Williams, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Martha W. Alibali, University of Wisconsin - Madison