This research is geared to find meaningful implication in geometry education by analyzing the processes of visualization by inquiring into the relationship between these two process. of visualization and its role in geometric problem solving, the proc...
This research is geared to find meaningful implication in geometry education by analyzing the processes of visualization by inquiring into the relationship between these two process. of visualization and its role in geometric problem solving, the process of reasoning and justification, and the relationship between visualization and reasoning. six elementary students on their fifth year and seven elementary in their sixth year were studied for this reason. They were told to slove 'geometric problem solving test', and their van Hiele level was taken into account. The geometric problem solving tests included plane figure problems including value-searching problems, theory-proving problems. They also included various problems involving spatial figures. The problems were solved in one-on-one interview sessions with the researcher, and results were collected in various manners including video tape recording, computer monitor recording, and written answer sheets.
The analysis results of the student's geometric problem solving process are follows:
As a result of this study, it was found that discursive and operational understandings of figure play a heuristic role in understanding the relationship among several properties and structure of figure in the process of visualization. In general, students tried to solve problems of space figure by psychologically operating it in their imagination, or changing its dimension during this study. Some students who successfully solved problems, showed various abilities to visualize space and their abilities to visualize space were influenced by the previous learning or experience. When solving problems of plane figure, students used mereology and picture-background method to operate figure. When solving problems of space figure, picture-background method and position change were also helpful for changing its dimension in the process of visualization of space figure.
Nextly, auxiliary lines, questions of teachers and mathematical proposition had significant effect on visualization of figure when solving geometrical problems.
Lastly, it was found that the previous learning or experience in space figure was used to visualize space. Some of students also solved problems of space figure in this study using an experience in forming solid figure with a development figure. However, when a static image of figure was firmly fixed in the previous experience of students, it had negative effect on visualization of space figure. Also, they partially depended on visual expression of pictures when solving geometrical problems, and many of them had difficulties in visualizing planes created when cutting space figure from a sketch drawing.
This results from a learning using development figure and sketch map that are always regular and it implies that various data should be provided for students. That is, in addition to diverse learning programs, teachers need to provide many experience for students to observe dynamically figure rather than regular pictures of space figure so that they can understand the internal structure of space figure clearly. In this respect, computer software to dynamically embody geometrical forms are very important in geometrical learning and teachers, therefore, have to positively apply it to its class.