Using dynamic transformations of solids to promote children’s geometrical reasoning

This paper is part of a research project on the study of children’s thinking about geometrical solids in the context of dynamic transformations. The context of this study is defined by the mental transformations of an orthogonal parallelepiped. Twenty 6th grade children (11 years old), who had previously experienced dynamic transformations of physical models of geometrical solids in their classroom, were clinically interviewed. The analysis of the data resulted in a modeling of children’s thinking and indicated a development from holistic to a relational consideration of geometrical solids. Moreover, there is evidence of the significant role played by the dynamic transformations in this development.