Abstract
On the one hand, recent results in neuroscience and communication bring the role of multimodal resources in cognitive and communicative processes to the fore. On the other hand, Bruner highlights the different role of narrative and logical thinking in human understanding. Before this background, we investigate the teaching and learning processes when children are introduced to the mathematical meanings by the use of narrative context and multimodality. We focus on a narratively-based problem-solving activity in the first year of primary school. We analyse the teacher-students multimodal interaction and discuss the potential and limits of what we call the “semiotic game” between teacher and students. The importance of the teacher being conscious of the multimodal aspects of teaching and learning mathematics, and of the complexity of narratively-based contexts comes to the fore.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arzarello, F., Paola, D., Robutti, O., & Sabena, C. (2009). Gestures as semiotic resources in the mathematics classroom. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70(2), 97–109.
Arzarello, F., Bikner, A., & Sabena, C. (2010). Complementary networking: Enriching understanding. In V. Durand-Guerrier, S. Soury-Lavergne, & F. Arzarello (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th congress of the European society for research in mathematics education (pp. 1545–1554). Lyon: INRP.
Bazzini, L. (2007). The mutual influence of theory and practice in mathematics education: Implications for research and teaching. ZDM – The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 39, 119–125.
Bazzini, L., Sabena, C., & Villa, B. (2009). Meaningful context in mathematical problem solving: A case study. In Proceedings of the 3rd international conference on science and mathematics education (pp. 343–351). Penang: CoSMEd.
Brousseau, G. (1997). Theory of didactical situations in mathematics. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Edwards, L., Ferrara, F., & Moore-Russo, D. (Eds.). (2014). Emerging perspectives on gesture and embodiment in mathematics. Charlotte: IAP.
Gallese, V., & Lakoff, G. (2005). The brain’s concepts: The role of the sensory-motor system in conceptual knowledge. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 22(3), 455–479.
Gellert, U., & Jablonka, E. (2009). “I am not talking about reality”: Word problems and the intricacies of producing legitimate text. In L. Verschaffel, B. Greer, W. Van Dooren, & S. Mukhopadhyay (Eds.), Words and worlds: Modelling verbal descriptions of situations (pp. 39–53). Rotterdam: Sense.
Goldin-Meadow, S. (2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Lakoff, G., & Núñez, R. (2000). Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. New York: Basic Books.
McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: What gestures reveal about thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
McNeill, D. (2005). Gesture and thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sabena, C., Robutti, O., Ferrara, F., & Arzarello, F. (2012). The development of a semiotic frame to analyse teaching and learning processes: Examples in pre- and post-algebraic contexts. In L. Coulange, J.-P. Drouhard, J.-L. Dorier, & A. Robert (Eds.), Recherches en Didactique des Mathématiques, Numéro spécial hors-série, Enseignement de l’algèbre élémentaire: bilan et perspectives (pp. 231–245). Grenoble: La Pensée Sauvage.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of Education (Progetto PRIN 2008PBBWNT “Teaching Mathematics: beliefs, best practices and teachers’ formation”). We wish to thank the teacher Luisa Politano for her precious contribution to the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bazzini, L., Sabena, C. (2015). Participation in Mathematics Problem-Solving Through Gestures and Narration. In: Gellert, U., Giménez Rodríguez, J., Hahn, C., Kafoussi, S. (eds) Educational Paths to Mathematics. Advances in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15410-7_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15410-7_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15409-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15410-7
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)