Mathematical connections of a higher cognitive level: A tool we may use to identify these in practice

Abstract

Learner acquisition of higher order cognitive skills and processes in mathematics is at the centre of many current curriculum reforms the world over. Although literature suggests that high-level cognitive processes require emphasis on reasoning about and connecting ideas, in South Africa one of the biggest challenges has been to develop tools that can help to conceptualize the linking of ideas in practice. This paper is an exposé of one such potential tool. The paper starts by borrowing from literature on the links between connections and higher order cognitive skills and processes. It then shows how a tool was developed from these connections for interrogating practice, how it was used in data analysis of video-recorded classroom observations and what it was able to capture. The paper concludes by discussing the potential of the tool in terms of observable strengths and weaknesses.

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