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Beyond Conceptual Change: Using Representations to Integrate Domain‐Specific Structural Models in Learning Mathematics
Author(s) -
Singer Florence Mihaela
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
mind, brain, and education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.624
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1751-228X
pISSN - 1751-2271
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-228x.2007.00009.x
Subject(s) - conceptual change , variety (cybernetics) , cognition , computer science , cognitive science , concept learning , domain (mathematical analysis) , focus (optics) , task (project management) , transformation (genetics) , mathematics education , artificial intelligence , psychology , mathematics , engineering , mathematical analysis , physics , systems engineering , neuroscience , optics , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
— Effective teaching should focus on representational change, which is fundamental to learning and education, rather than conceptual change, which involves transformation of theories in science rather than the gradual building of knowledge that occurs in students. This article addresses the question about how to develop more efficient strategies for promoting representational change across cognitive development. I provide an example of an integrated structural model that highlights the underlying cognitive structures that connect numbers, mathematical operations, and functions. The model emphasizes dynamic multiple representations that students can internalize within the number line and which lead to developing a dynamic mental structure. In teaching practice, the model focuses on a counting task format, which integrates a variety of activities, specifically addressing motor, visual, and verbal skills, as well as various types of learning transfer.