This picture is retrieved from http://proactiveplay.com/the-van-hieles-model-of-geometric-thinking/
I have a better understanding about what geometric thinking is as compared to last week as I did not know what it was and had confusion in understanding the term. Through the video and the points written on the lecture slide, I know that geometric thinking is developed from Van Hiele’s Levels of development and Spatial sense. There are levels in Van Hiele’s model and the activities given in the video makes me understand the concept of geometric thinking better.
I think that I should have more knowledge in different shapes, as I learnt mathematics in Mandarin, it is hard for me to translate and recognize the terminologies. Therefore, I need to put more effort in learning the shapes in order to be an effective teacher. Also, spatial sense is crucial in learning geometry, the problem is I do not really have this sense. These are the things I have to work on. There are interesting ways to develop children’s spatial sense from the link http://www.ilslearning.com/2015-02-6-activities-improve-spatial-awareness/
We have watched a video about the activities carried out in Israel classroom. Various tasks are given for the students to have a better understanding in different shapes. And I think that hands-on activities are really important because students learn by doing. Therefore, I would include a lot of hands-on activities in my lesson in order to engage students. Like what Dr. Peterson said that “You have to do stuff, you can’t learn passively” from the link http://gettingsmart.com/2013/03/learning-by-doing-the-neurology-of-math/