TY  - UNPB
PB  - Institute of Education, University of London
UR  - https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10021586/
M1  - Doctoral
ID  - discovery10021586
N2  - The aim of this study is to investigate children's developing sense of number in the
computational medium of Boxer. Boxer's combination of graphical and symbolic
elements afforded the opportunity for children to visualise numbers in an operational
way while simultaneously offering insights into how this operational approach mediated
their thinking. There were three inter-related aspects to the study, with visualisation
being the common feature of all three.
? (i) How does the visual structure of Boxer influence students' (aged 9 - 11) ability
to program?
? (ii) What interpretations do students place on a number system extended beyond the
natural numbers and how did they choose to represent these?
? (iii) How can the learning environment of Boxer be exploited as a context for
developing students' sense of number?
Following an exploratory study, pedagogical models for investigating issues (i) and (iii)
were developed. For issue (i), Boxer was exploited as a means of introducing itself.
This, in turn, meant documenting the issues involved in a process of iterative design.
For issue (iii), a model of learning was developed which proposed that the children
should construct their own microworlds. Following an off-computer investigation of
issue (ii), the model was refined to that of children constructing operational
computational objects, and the research aim broadened to include an investigation of
how these objects mediated their expression of number. This part of the research
consisted of a longitudinal study lasting two years. It entailed case studies with four
pairs of children, while the rest of the class learned Boxer independently. None of the
children had previous Boxer or Logo experience. The research setting was a normal
classroom in an inner-London primary school. Data for issues (i) and (iii) was obtained
by means of video recordings and annotated print-outs, while data for issue (ii) was
obtained by written records and audio recordings.
Evidence from the research suggests that students' programming is significantly more
structured in Boxer relative to Logo, and this structure is directly related to the visual
nature of Boxer. Moreover, data from the number studies suggests that this visual
structure was also instrumental in providing students with the means to connect number
processes with number concepts, thus enabling them to engage with number ideas
which might otherwise have been beyond their reach.
TI  - Visualising number: a study of children's developing sense of number in the computational medium of Boxer.
N1  - Unpublished
KW  - Mathematics education
KW  - Mathematical ability
KW  - Cognitive development
KW  - Visual perception
KW  - Computer languages
KW  - Boxer (Computer program language)
A1  - O'Reilly, Declan.
AV  - public
EP  - 307
Y1  - 1995///
ER  -