ERIC Number: EJ1459169
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 35
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-6065
EISSN: EISSN-1532-7833
Available Date: N/A
Vygotskian Hybridizing of Motion and Mapping: Learning about Geometric Transformations in Block-Based Programming Environments
Mathematical Thinking and Learning: An International Journal, v27 n1 p25-59 2025
Research on geometric transformations suggests that early learners possess intuitive understandings grounded in motion metaphors, transitioning to mappings. The processes through which students transition between these two conceptions are not fully understood. We propose that Vygotskian hybridizing (related to Vygotsky's articulation of everyday and scientific concepts) may provide a lens for thinking about the relationship between these conceptions. Design features of block-based programming environments provide affordances to support hybridizing by providing a co-action space for learning. We conducted a comparative case study of four grade seven and eight students working in a Scratch task (Code the Quilts) and a game (Transformations Quest) to construct understandings of geometric transformations. Our findings suggest: (1) students hybridized their personal experience of motion and mathematical knowledge of mapping to build geometric transformations understandings and (2) the co-action space in which students worked promoted distributed interactions between students, block-based environments, and tasks to support hybridizing.
Descriptors: Geometric Concepts, Motion, Scientific Concepts, Programming, Concept Mapping, Transformations (Mathematics), Middle School Students, Grade 7, Grade 8, Geometry, Interaction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Elementary Education; Grade 7; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1742257
Author Affiliations: N/A