Ole Erik Jevne, Senior Adviser and Oliv Klingenberg, PhD, Senior Adviser at Statped midt

Linking mobility and mathematics

- Learning about location through concepts in mobility and mathematics

How do pupils describe the connections between spatial concepts used in physical orientation and in a tactile illustration of the same mobility route? How do pupils specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry or other representational systems

Spatial concepts are integrated in our language, as they are vital in both mobility-route training and in mathematical thinking. The speakers will present an educational experiment conducted as a course in mobility and mathematics for pupils who read braille in the sixth and seventh grades. The course is held by Statped, - the state agency in Norway that offers special education services within the educational sector. The course is prepared, and will be arranged in December 2016.

They have designed activities with the goal of helping the pupils to enhance their understanding of space: The surrounding space and the two-dimensional space - from a mobility-route to tactile representation of the route.

Their hypotheses are that when a pupil describes a mobility-route to another pupil, and they both have a tactile representation of the actual route, this activity provides a basis to understand coordinate geometry. We suppose that helping pupils refine the ways they speak about direction, distance, and location, enhances spatial understandings. Location activities, as how objects are located with respect to other objects, involve analysis of paths from point to point as on a map and the use of coordinate systems.