Multimodal interpretation of notation

Challenges related to the teaching and learning of formal notation in school mathematics are widely documented, and specifically in relation to the underlying mathematical structures that the notation is intended to convey. In this article, we draw on embodied cognition to examine the interactions among three students working with the software Grid Algebra. Embodied cognition emphasises the role of gesture and movement in learning and understanding mathematics. Grid Algebra uses movement to direct students’ attention to mathematical operations on numbers and numerical expressions within the grid and the structure of these operations, while the software takes care of the formal notation of the numerical expressions that describe these sequences of operations. We analyse how different modes of communication work together to scaffold students’ fluency with operations and the formal notation representing these operations and the order in which they are performed. The dynamic between notation, speech, movement and position allows students to educate their interpretation of mathematical notation through the movements and positions that they are very familiar with.