Virtual Gestures as Embodiments of Translations in Digital Space

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Mathematics Education Research Poster Session 1

Abstract

How do students use their sensory-motor system (action, perception, and speech) in a digital environment as they make predictions for a figure’s position? I will explore this question by analyzing an interview with Julia, a 7th grader, making predictions for a figure’s position after being translated by a given vector. I present an episode in which Julia semiotically coordinated her virtual gestures (cursor motions) with her speech and perception, to enact the motion of the translated figure. Semiotic coordinations of components were multimodal ways in which she embodied translations. The present study contributes to the literature on multimodal forms of students’ mathematical thinking generated by the use of digital technology by introducing virtual gestures as a modality of thinking.

Author

• Mirjana Hotomski, Tufts University