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Euclid, the van Hiele levels, and the Geometer's Sketchpad

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Date Issued:
2006
Summary:
As an educator, my greatest concern is to provide my students with instruction that will raise their level of understanding in mathematics. For geometry in particular, the van Hiele Theory is a way to measure a student's level of geometric understanding. Geometry instruction that raises a student's van Hiele level can be enhanced with two important resources, the ancient text of Euclid's Elements a contemporary dynamic geometry software program like the Geometer's Sketchpad. Euclid's Elements can be read as a book of geometric constructions rather than a list of theorems neatly arranged in logical order. The Geometer's Sketchpad is a convenient and efficient tool for geometric constructions. It is only natural to incorporate these two resources in geometry instruction. The logical structure of Euclid's Elements is intimidating to most learners, but teaching and learning need not be pursued logically linearly. This thesis is an attempt to incorporate some of the important constructions in Euclid's Elements with Geometer's Sketchpad, through the design of instruction modules in geometric constructions, to help students better understand geometry, and to improve their van Hiele level of understanding of geometry.
Title: Euclid, the van Hiele levels, and the Geometer's Sketchpad.
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Name(s): Thompson, Elpida
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Yiu, Paul Y., Thesis Advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2006
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 84 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: As an educator, my greatest concern is to provide my students with instruction that will raise their level of understanding in mathematics. For geometry in particular, the van Hiele Theory is a way to measure a student's level of geometric understanding. Geometry instruction that raises a student's van Hiele level can be enhanced with two important resources, the ancient text of Euclid's Elements a contemporary dynamic geometry software program like the Geometer's Sketchpad. Euclid's Elements can be read as a book of geometric constructions rather than a list of theorems neatly arranged in logical order. The Geometer's Sketchpad is a convenient and efficient tool for geometric constructions. It is only natural to incorporate these two resources in geometry instruction. The logical structure of Euclid's Elements is intimidating to most learners, but teaching and learning need not be pursued logically linearly. This thesis is an attempt to incorporate some of the important constructions in Euclid's Elements with Geometer's Sketchpad, through the design of instruction modules in geometric constructions, to help students better understand geometry, and to improve their van Hiele level of understanding of geometry.
Identifier: 9780542739286 (isbn), 13366 (digitool), FADT13366 (IID), fau:10216 (fedora)
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.T.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2006.
Subject(s): Geometry--Study and teaching (Secondary)
Mathematics--Study and teaching--Technological innovations
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13366
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.