Students' Placement of the Parallelogram in Tangram Puzzles

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Eleven
  In Roundtable Session: Student Cognition and Reasoning in Mathematics (Table 12)

Abstract

Early shape composition activities include solving tangram puzzles, but we need more evidence on when and how to apply these puzzles to improve students’ shape composition skills. The parallelogram tangram piece must sometimes be flipped, a source of difficulty for students. We collected video data from 51 students (first and third grades) who recreated a bunny tangram puzzle from a picture and solved a fox tangram puzzle by fitting pieces into an outline. We analyzed where they placed the parallelogram and whether they flipped it correctly across both puzzles. Results suggest that the fox puzzle’s outline may have supported students’ efforts to flip the parallelogram compared to when recreating the bunny. Results suggest additions to the shape composition learning trajectory.

Authors

• Laura Bofferding, Purdue University
  Presenting Author

• Yi Zhu, Purdue University
  Presenting Author