The graphical illustrations mathematics teachers

Answer choices

1. A

   Supportable11% picked this

   Pictorial understanding is not the final stage of

   We know the deepest stage of math understanding is abstract, and in the context of learning, deepest = last stage. So pictorial/imagistic understanding can't be the final stage, because we know the final stage is abstract.

   11%
2. B

   Correct74% picked this

   People who are very good at manipulating symbols do not necessarily have

   Why this is right

   Do we talk about people who are “very good” at manipulating symbols? No, we say an intuitive understanding makes it easier to manipulate symbols, but nothing about people who are very good at it. Do we talk about anyone who has no mathematical understanding? No. So we have no support for the idea that “some people who are very good at manipulating symbols do not have any mathematical understanding.

   Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   74%
3. C

   Supportable3% picked this

   Illustrating geometric concepts graphically is an effective

   We're told that illustrating geometry “enables students to learn geometry more easily”, so that counts as an effective teaching method.

   3%
4. D

   Supportable8% picked this

   Acquiring the ability to manipulate symbols is part of the process

   This reinforces what we know from our Causal Chain. Intuit Und. ? easier to manip symbols ? easier to learn geometry If manipulating symbols were not part of the process of learning geometry, then the first sentence wouldn't make sense. Illustrations make learning geometry easier by providing an intuitive understanding and making it easier to manipulate symbols. It'd be like if we said “Quoting Shakespeare during my job interview made me more likely to be hired, because it showed I was well-read, which made it seem like I was smart.” That implies that “seeming smart” is one of the things the job interviewer would consider a positive.

   8%
5. E

   Supportable4% picked this

   There are strategies that can be effectively employed in the teaching both of algebra

   “There are strategies” sounds plural like “Some strategies are effective”, but they both mean “there is at least one”. We know that there is at least one effective strategy that would work in both algebra and geometry (from the last sentence): illustrating concepts.

   4%