Visual Thinking In Mathematics

Drawing from philosophical work on the nature of concepts and from empirical studies of visual perception, mental imagery, and numerical cognition, Giaquinto explores a major source of our grasp of mathematics, using examples from basic geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and real analysis.

Visual thinking - visual imagination or perception of diagrams and symbol arrays, and mental operations on them - is omnipresent in mathematics. Is this visual thinking merely a psychological aid, facilitating grasp of what is gathered by other means? Or does it also have epistemological functions, as a means of discovery, understanding, and even proof? By examining the many kinds of visual representation in mathematics and the diverse ways in which they are used, Marcus Giaquinto argues that visual thinking in mathematics is rarely just a superfluous aid; it usually has epistemological value, often as a means of discovery. Drawing from philosophical work on the nature of concepts and from empirical studies of visual perception, mental imagery, and numerical cognition, Giaquinto explores a major source of our grasp of mathematics, using examples from basic geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and real analysis. He shows how we can discern abstract general truths by means of specific images, how synthetic a priori knowledge is possible, and how visual means can help us grasp abstract structures. Visual Thinking in Mathematics reopens the investigation of earlier thinkers from Plato to Kant into the nature and epistemology of an individual's basic mathematical beliefs and abilities, in the new light shed by the maturing cognitive sciences. Clear and concise throughout, it will appeal to scholars and students of philosophy, mathematics, and psychology, as well as anyone with an interest in mathematical thinking.

Drawing from philosophical work on the nature of concepts and from empirical studies of visual perception, mental imagery, and numerical cognition, Giaquinto explores a major source of our grasp of mathematics, using examples from basic geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and real analysis.

What does it mean to have a visual representation of a mathematical object, concept, or process? What visualization strategies support growth in mathematical thinking, reasoning, generalization, and knowledge? Is mathematical seeing culture-free? How can information drawn from studies in blind subjects help us understand the significance of a multimodal approach to learning mathematics? Toward a Visually-Oriented School Mathematics Curriculum explores a unified theory of visualization in school mathematical learning via the notion of progressive modeling. Based on the author’s longitudinal research investigations in elementary and middle school classrooms, the book provides a compelling empirical account of ways in which instruction can effectively orchestrate the transition from personally-constructed visuals, both externally-drawn and internally-derived, into more structured visual representations within the context of a socioculturally grounded mathematical activity. Both for teachers and researchers, a discussion of this topic is relevant in the history of the present. The ubiquity of technological tools and virtual spaces for learning and doing mathematics has aroused interest among concerned stakeholders about the role of mathematics in these contexts. The book begins with a prolegomenon on the author’s reflections on past and present visual studies in mathematics education. In the remaining seven chapters, visualization is pursued in terms of its role in bringing about progressions in mathematical symbolization, abduction, pattern generalization, and diagrammatization. Toward a Visually-Oriented School Mathematics Curriculum views issues surrounding visualization through the eyes of a classroom teacher-researcher; it draws on findings within and outside of mathematics education that help practitioners and scholars gain a better understanding of what it means to pleasurably experience the symmetric visual/symbolic reversal phenomenon – that is, seeing the visual in the symbolic and the symbolic in the visual."

Proofs without words (PWWs) are figures or diagrams that help the reader see why a particular mathematical statement is true, and how one might begin to formally prove it true. PWWs are not new, many date back to classical Greece, ancient China, and medieval Europe and the Middle East. PWWs have been regular features of the MAA journals Mathematics Magazine and The College Mathematics Journal for many years, and the MAA published the collections of PWWs Proofs Without Words: Exercises in Visual Thinking in 1993 and Proofs Without Words II: More Exercises in Visual Thinking in 2000. This book is the third such collection of PWWs.

The object of this book is to show how visualization techniques may be employed to produce pictures that have interest for the creation, communication and teaching of mathematics. Mathematical drawings related to proofs have been produced since antiquity in China, Arabia, Greece and India but only in the last thirty years has there been a growing interest in so-called 'proofs without words.' In this book the authors show that behind most of the pictures 'proving' mathematical relations are some well-understood methods. The first part of the book consists of twenty short chapters, each one describing a method to visualize some mathematical idea (a proof, a concept, an operation,...) and several applications to concrete cases. Following this the book examines general pedagogical considerations concerning the development of visual thinking, practical approaches for making visualizations in the classroom and a discussion of the role that hands-on material plays in this process.

"This book is a crucial tool for meeting NCTM mathematical content and process standards. Through the useful problems and strategies presented within, teachers will definitely know how well their students will comprehend. If comprehension is an issue in your class, this book is a must have!" —Therese Gessler Rodammer, Math Coach Thomas W. Dixon Elementary School, Staunton, VA Seeing is believing with this interactive approach to math instruction Do you ever wish your students could read each other′s thoughts? Now they can—and so can you! Veteran mathematics educators Ted Hull, Don Balka, and Ruth Harbin Miles explain why making students′ thought processes visible is the key to effective mathematics instruction. Their newest book contains numerous grade-specific sample problems and instructional strategies for teaching essential concepts such as number sense, fractions, and estimation. Among the many benefits of visible thinking are: Interactive student-to-student learning Increased class participation Development of metacognitive thinking and problem-solving skills Helpful features include vignettes, relevant word problems, classroom scenarios, sample problems, lesson adaptations, and easy-to-follow examples of each strategy in action. The authors also explain how students can demonstrate their thinking using calculators and online tools. The final chapter outlines steps math leaders can take to implement visible thinking and maximize mathematics comprehension for all students.