A1 Journal article (refereed)
Geometrinen hahmottaminen sosiaalisena, vuorovaikutteisena ja kehollisena toimintana (2021)
Geometrical perception as social, interactional and embodied action

Jakonen, T., Szabó, T. P., & Fenyvesi, K. (2021). Geometrinen hahmottaminen sosiaalisena, vuorovaikutteisena ja kehollisena toimintana. Kasvatus, 52(1), 7-21. https://doi.org/10.33348/kvt.107960

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Jakonen, Teppo; Szabó, Tamás Peter; Fenyvesi, Kristóf

Journal or series: Kasvatus

ISSN: 0022-927X

eISSN: 2737-0658

Publication year: 2021

Volume: 52

Issue number: 1

Pages range: 7-21

Publisher: Suomen kasvatustieteellinen seura

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33348/kvt.107960

Persistent website address: https://journal.fi/kasvatus/article/view/107960

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Delayed open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/77885

Additional information: Artikkeli avautuu Journal.fi -palvelussa 12 kk julkaisemisen jälkeen.

Abstract

Recent research on the learning of science and mathematics, and more specifically on STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), emphasises the close relationship between the human body and cognition. In this article, we explore soma ways in which geometrical perception constitutes, and is displayed in, social interactive, and materially-mediated embodied action. We draw on ethnomethodological conversation analysis to investigate video materials that were collected in a mathematics workshop organised outside school. In the workshop, pairs of primary school pupils were given the task of constructing a geometrical representation of a football using the plastic tubes and connectors of a 4DFrame construction set, a tool developed for mathematics education. By way of a conversation analytic case study, we show how during such a guided replication task, touching and pointing offer important interactional resources to participants for perceiving their emerging football construction, noticing problems in its geometrical structure as well as visualizing existing and planned structures to others. We argue that embodied visualisations of the football structure enable the workshop instructor to guide and support the pupils’ emerging geometrical perception. In all, our analysis highlights the multisensory nature of geometrical perception and its dual role in the workshop as both an instructional learning object and a prerequisite for being able to build a geometric model of football. More broadly, our results support earlier studies that foreground the role of the human body, learning materials, and interaction in teaching and learning activities.

Keywords: natural sciences; mathematics; teaching and instruction; geometry; conceptualisation; learning; experiential learning; social interaction; conversation analysis

Free keywords: perception; mathematics; embodied learning; hands-on workshops; conversation analysis

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2021

JUFO rating: 2