Improving middle school students’ geometry problem solving ability through hands-on experience: An fNIRS study

Abstract

Hands-on learning is proposed as a prerequisite for mathematics learning in kindergarten and primary school. However, it remains unclear that whether hands-on experience aids understanding of geometry knowledge for middle school students. We also know little about the neural basis underlying the value of hands-on experience in math education. In this study, 40 right-handed Chinese students (20 boys and 20 girls) with different academic levels were selected from 126 seventh-grade students in the same school, who learnt “Axisymmetric of an Isosceles Triangle” in different learning style (hands-on operation vs. video observation). Half of them operated the concrete manipulatives while the other half watched the instructional videos. The learning-test paradigm and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technique were used to compare the differences in geometry reasoning involved in solving well-structured problems and ill-structured problems. Behavioral results showed that hands-on experience promoted students’ performances of geometry problem-solving. Students with lower academic level were more dependent on hands-on experience than those with higher academic level. The fNIRS results showed that meaningful hands-on experience with concrete manipulatives related to learning contents increased reactivation of the somatosensory association cortex during subsequent reasoning, which helped to improve the problem-solving performance. Hands-on experience also reduced students’ cognitive load during the well-structured problem-solving process. These findings contribute to better understand the value of hands-on experience in geometry learning and the implications for future mathematics classroom practices.

The neuroscience basis and educational interventions of mathematical cognitive impairment and anxiety: a systematic literature review

“…Practical research conditions and constraints, such as funding, time, and technology, often further exacerbate these limitations. High costs and technical difficulties might limit the number and diversity of recruitable samples, especially in studies involving high-cost technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) ( Artemenko et al, 2019 ; Shi et al, 2023 ).…”

Advances in the Contributions of Mathematics in the Field of Education and Psychology

“…Practical research conditions and constraints, such as funding, time, and technology, often further exacerbate these limitations. High costs and technical difficulties might limit the number and diversity of recruitable samples, especially in studies involving high-cost technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) (Artemenko et al, 2019;Shi et al, 2023).…”