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Colby College

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1972

Mathematics -- Study and teaching

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Psychological Mechanisms In Learning Mathematical Concepts, Louis Fallon May 1972

Psychological Mechanisms In Learning Mathematical Concepts, Louis Fallon

Senior Scholar Papers

Psychological Mechanisms in learning Mathematical Concepts: Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist, did theoretical and experimental work based on the idea that there is an invariant heirarchy of responses by which everyone acquires mathematical concepts. Basically we tried to use the geometric symmetry concept as a vehicle for studying this process of concept acquisition using subjects ranging in age from three to 25. They were asked to reproduce a series of stimulus "pictures," simple geometric patterns, which could be used without major alteration for each age group. Symmetric responses were divided into four types which were set up into a heirarchy …