The Mutual Involvement of Gesture and Diagramming in the Process of Mathematical Meaning-Making: Case of Statistical Thinking through Diagrammatic Reasoning

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to propose a framework for analyzing a mutually corresponding relationship between gestures and diagramming in constructing making mathematical meanings. To this end, this study analyzes the case of mathematics classes which aimed at recognizing the relationship between average and a statistical distribution through activities using diagrams. Findings indicate that several students performed informal mathematical thinking using gestures and diagrams about some diagrams without numerical information. Further, our analysis captures the way gestures and diagramming reveal new mathematical meanings and elaborates the role of gestures and diagramming to refine the meanings. This study also discusses in what ways researchers and teachers can use the framework to better understand various types of gestures and diagrams in mathematical thinking.