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Geometry and Spatial Reasoning

The document discusses teaching geometry and spatial reasoning to children. It describes the Van Hiele levels of geometric thinking, where children progress through 5 levels - from visualizing shapes to rigorous understanding of axiomatic systems. The levels are not age-dependent but related to experiences. To advance levels, children need many hands-on experiences incorporating geometry into everyday activities to develop spatial skills important for life. Teachers should help children understand properties and relationships between shapes matching their level of reasoning.

Uploaded by

Kok An Koh
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
149 views

Geometry and Spatial Reasoning

The document discusses teaching geometry and spatial reasoning to children. It describes the Van Hiele levels of geometric thinking, where children progress through 5 levels - from visualizing shapes to rigorous understanding of axiomatic systems. The levels are not age-dependent but related to experiences. To advance levels, children need many hands-on experiences incorporating geometry into everyday activities to develop spatial skills important for life. Teachers should help children understand properties and relationships between shapes matching their level of reasoning.

Uploaded by

Kok An Koh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Geometry and Spatial

Reasoning
Develop

adequate spatial skills


Children respond to three dimensional world of
shapes
Discovery as they play, build and explore toys
Spatial reasoning creates mental images of ones
surroundings and objects in them(NCTM 2000)
Spatial skills are important for everyday life

Why Geometry?
Practical

experiences involve problem


solving situations that require knowledge in
geometric concepts
Making frames
Building furniture
Grass seed, fertilizer required
Wallpaper and paint
2

Teaching Strategy
Incorporate

geometry into everything you


do not just mathematics instruction
Help develop spatial reasoning and
understanding

Van Hiele Levels


Two

Dutch educators studied childrens


acquisition of geometric concepts and the
development of geometric thought
The Van Hieles concluded that children pass
through five levels of reasoning in geometry

Van Hiele Levels of Geometric


Thinking
Level

0 Visualization
Description: Children recognize shapes by their
global, holistic appearance
For

example, a child might think of shapes in


terms of what they resemble
A triangle may be described as a mountain
At this level children can sort shapes into groups
that look alike to them in some way
5

Van Hiele Levels


Level

1 Analysis
Description: Children observe the
component parts of a figure (ex.
parallelogram has opposite sides that are
parallel) but are unable to explain the
relationships between properties within a
shape or among shapes
6

Van Hiele Levels


At

level 1 analysis children think in terms of


properties
They understand that all shapes in a group such as
parallelograms have the same properties
Four sides
Opposite sides parallel
Opposite sides are congruent
Opposite angles are congruent
7

Van Hiele Levels


Level

2 Informal deduction
Description: Children deduce properties of
figures and express interrelationships both
within and between figures
Example,

all squares are rectangles but not


all rectangles are squares
8

Van Hiele Levels


Level

3 Formal deduction
Description: Children create formal deductive
proofs (high school level)
Example:

Children at this level think about


relationships between properties of shapes and
understand relationships between axioms,
definitions, theorems, corollaries and postulates.
9

Comments on the Levels of


Thought
Not

age dependent but related to experiences that


children have had
The levels of sequential
To move from one level to the next, children need
to have many experiences
Language must match the childs level of
understanding
It is difficult for two people at different levels to
communicate effectively
10

Van Hiele Levels


Level

4 Rigor
Description: Children rigorously compare
different axiomatic systems (college level)
Example:

Children at this level can think in


terms of abstract mathematical systems

11

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