Developing Number Sense Through Imagery - An Intuitive Approach for Children

Abstract

My thesis examines how intuitive image construction can be integrated into developing number sense. My thesis includes two parts, this written work as well as a production. The production is a children’s story- and activity book and its purpose is to develop number sense and intuition through visual imagery. At the end, the book was tested on five children.

The theoretical background aims to serve as a multidisciplinary literary review which reflects the subject into art, pedagogy, and cognitive sciences. In addition to this, it acts as an examination of how the nature of images impacts the learner’s spiritual and mental growth. The production works as an example of how the theory might be reflected into a practical educational method.

The process of the thesis was explorative in the sense that the nature of the production was unknown until after the theoretical framework was written. Therefore, the theoretical frame-work was used as an integral part of the design process, a “toolbox”, for the book.

Logical and analytical thinking modes are prominent in education. Art is a small portion of the curriculum, and it is seen separate from the rest of education. The integration of art into other subjects is superficial and does not make use of its intuitive, subjective qualities. Visual cognition in mathematics education is developed mostly through ready-made images. The aim of the work is to bring balance to the use of analytical and artistic thinking modes in education.

Through the theoretical framework it was found that intuitive and subjective image construction holds potential in developing cognitive abilities while looking at the student as a holistic entity, not just a head. This might be done through building mental imagery for numbers by imitating the phenomenon of grapheme-color synesthesia.