Development of the Activity of Learning Geometric Concepts in Younger Adolescents: Social and Cultural Communication

Abstract

Present article is written in the framework of socially- and culturally-oriented mathematics teaching, developed by the authors. The authors theoretically validate the technology of teaching geometry to younger adolescents, which is oriented towards learning the value content of geometric concepts. From the positions of social and cultural approach the article analyses communication – a phase of value learning cycle. Communication is a development of understanding and means of operating geometric concepts. There are several stages of communication; their content is defined by the structure of the activity component of geometric concepts, which includes object-oriented actions, as well as real learning and formal operations. Based on the theoretical framework of communication principles, during a developmental experiment the authors created an academic complex for the students of 5-6th grades in middle schools. Logical component of communication has three stages during the experimental learning. The content of these stages is defined by the classification of the learned geometric concepts based on the level of thought process operations (real, formal and integral). The article describes an algorithm for the organization of geometric concepts value content learning during communication process. It also addresses the stages of development of spatial and logical communication components on the example of teaching geometry to younger adolescents. The following hypothesis has been theoretically validated and experimentally confirmed: social and communicative processes efficiency in the situation of geometry learning in younger adolescents depends on multiple factors, such as realization of psychological and didactic patterns of awareness, understanding and generalizing activity content and process; gradual development of the activity of learning geometric concepts value content; gradual development of an integral psychological structure “image – representation – pre-concept – concept – system of concepts”; gradual development of geometric concepts activity components – object-oriented actions, real cognitive operations, formal operations.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6p503