CONCEPT
CARTOONS
John Dabell describes how he
uses visual disagreements to
advance his learners
understanding of mathematics.
So, what are they? Concept cartoons are cognitive
drawings or visual disagreements that use a
cartoon-style design to present mathematical
conversations inside speech bubbles. The viewpoints
portrayed are all different and it is this difference
that acts as a catalyst for further conversations, as
learners talk together to discuss their thinking.
They make learners ideas about mathematics
explicit and they make mathematics interactive and
discussion-based. Why has mathematics been so
slow to catch on to their potential? As formative
assessment tools they have real virtue because they
are a highly effective way of probing learners
mathematical conceptions and, crucially, their
misconceptions. Presenting alternative ideas
encourages everyone to think about things from
a different point of view.
34
Organisational issues
A case study
In my own research into using concept cartoons I
have been impressed with the way children have
responded to them. I have used a variety of
cartoons to address a range of conceptual obstacles
and alternative frameworks including the idea of
multiplication makes bigger, which is generally
considered a classic mistake. I recently tried the
multiplication makes bigger concept cartoon in a
Y6 class.
We agree with
this statement
We disagree with
this statement
Multiplying by a fraction
makes a smaller number
We agree with
this statement
We tried 4
4, 5
6,
7
3, 8
2, 9
9 and
these all made bigger
numbers
If you multiply by 0 then
it gets ten times bigger
because you put a zero
on the end
We did 2
and this
made 1
We disagree with
this statement
We agree with
this statement
Multiplying by a fraction
makes a smaller number
We think this
statement depends
We tried 1
1, and this
made the same number.
We tried 2
2 and
this made 4
Any number multiplied
by zero has a product of
zero
4
2 but
4
2 6
35
References
Keogh, B. and Naylor, S.
(2000) Concept Cartoons in
Science Education, Millgate
House
Swan, M. (2006)
Collaborative Learning in
Mathematics: a challenge to
our beliefs and practices.
National Research and
Development Centre for
Adult Literacy and
Numeracy (NRDC) and
the National Institute of
Adult Continuing
Education (NIACE)
36
Some conclusions
In all the examples above, it is clear that there is a
lot to talk about. Concept cartoons pitch one idea
against another. Some of the speech bubbles seem
plausible, some are ambiguous and others are way
off the mark. Whatever way, they promote thought
friction, spark ideas and kick-start conversation.
Each concept cartoon also requires classroom
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.