Explorations of volume in a gesture-based virtual mathematics laboratory
Published: 2017
Publication Name: Proceedings of the 39th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
Publication URL: https://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings/PMENA%2039%202017%20Proceedings.pdf
Abstract:
A room-scale virtual-reality environment was used to investigate students’ conceptions of the volume of a pyramid. Participants controlled the virtual environment with a gesture-based interface that converted movements of their hands into actions on mathematical figures. Two students in graduate programs leading to certification in secondary science education investigated how the volume of a pyramid is affected by horizontal (i.e., shearing) or vertical (i.e., elongation) movements of its apex. Participants’ actions within the environment were analyzed using the conceptions-knowing-concept (cK¢) model of student conceptions. Both participants used an analogy of volume to surface area and area to perimeter to make sense of the effects of the shearing operator.
Bock, C., & Dimmel, J.K. (2017). Explorations of volume in a gesture-based virtual mathematics laboratory. In E. Galindo & J. Newton, (Eds.), Proceedings of the 39th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 371-374). Indianapolis, IN: Hoosier Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. https://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings/PMENA%2039%202017%20Proceedings.pdf