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Aveuglami and the teaching of geometry
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Aveuglami and the teaching of geometry

The initial idea was to see if the practice of origami could be an aid to the teaching of geometry in primary classes. Of course, this practice in no way replaces other known practices, but must be considered as an additional practice.

The setting is that of the Institut des Hauts-Thbaudières, Vertou, France, a specialized institute which welcomes visually impaired children

/// 1 - the start of the project: school year 2005-2006

Launched in September 2005 during a meeting between M. Lucas, D. Marquez, M. Papineau and Y. Potel, it was decided to set up an experiment following another test concerning geometric tracing.

The bases of this experiment were as follows:
- target audience: CP level children

- rely exactly on the primary school mathematics program

- objectives to achieve:
. appropriation of paper
. make and recognize basic figures (square, rectangle, triangle).

- creation of an educational fund
. for example, set of wooden figures. Stronger, more rigid.
. see the AVH catalog.

- 2 half-hour sessions per week. First sessions:
. identification of different papers (aluminum, paper towels, cellophane, etc.)
. crumpling of paper (putting it into a ball, obtaining shapes, etc.)
. crease then unfold (address, delicacy of touch)
. fold, as small as possible
. fold a sheet in half, which involves two-dimensional marking (right, left, top, bottom).
. fold, then fold again, then unfold and reverse the folds to create a fan.

- contribution M. Lucas
. Study of the different types of basic figure
. different methods for creating figures
. find nice folds

The evaluation of this test in June 2005 led the teachers to reconsider the desired objective and the means to associate it.

/// 2 - validation of the project: school year 2006-2007

After a second year of experimentation, Mr. Jean-Marie Cierco, Inspector of Technical Education, validated this teaching, particularly in view of the technical assessment which follows (extracts) :


The progress made by the children was evident, both in the area of mastery of elementary folding techniques and in the appropriation of a precise geometric vocabulary.

The main remarks that can be made on a technical level are as follows:
- The children completed most of the folding tasks that were asked of them. The vocabulary specific to origami (valley fold, mountain fold, edge to edge fold, ...) is understood. Certain techniques required a lot of effort, but the ability to carry out a modular folding (cube in four parts) shows that important steps have been taken.
- Visually impaired children have made faster and greater progress than blind children, thanks to their visual capacity, even if reduced. On the other hand, visually impaired children used their sense of touch very little.
- It is obvious that the motivation of each child plays an essential role in their success. Too long waiting times between each check by a teacher, poor understanding of instructions leading to recurrent failure, difficulty concentrating for a long time, all elements which lead a child to become discouraged and abandon all effort. This point should be monitored.
- The role of teachers is crucial, particularly in terms of checking children's work and providing ongoing support for their efforts. The experience acquired during workshops for adults has shown that it is very difficult (if not impossible) for a sighted teacher to ensure a good pace for more than 4 visually impaired people. This is even more true if the teacher is himself blind. This same experience shows that the presence of a second person makes it possible to manage up to 7 or 8 students, even if it means distributing the roles. For example, the second person can preferentially take charge of 2 or 3 students who are slower, or who have more difficulties, in order to provide them with permanent support
- There is no need for teachers to be experts in folding, although it is not prohibited. Their role is simply to recall the geometric bases underlying the exercises, to announce the folding sequences, to check that the announced exercise is being carried out by all the children, and to possibly provide minimal assistance to this or that student. in difficulty or late. A relatively short training course (around 4 half-days) should allow any teacher to tackle such a workshop without too much fear.
- It is interesting to use a wide variety of paper, in order to increase sensitivity to touch. However, some exercises are easier to do with a given type of paper, and very difficult with another type of paper. The choice of material must therefore be made carefully..
- Great attention must be paid to the vocabulary used. It must be precise, consistent with the vocabulary used in geometry, reused systematically whenever necessary.
- SIf the list of available elementary geometric foldings seems relatively complete, it would be useful to look for other more 'fun' foldings involving geometric notions, and to strengthen the list of potential exercise ideas.

In conclusion, this first experience can be qualified as a success on a technical level. Areas for improvement for the CP class have been identified, but the fundamental principles are already in place and mastered. A continuation of experience in the CE1 and CE2 classes would allow, the elementary techniques having been acquired, to concentrate the work on deeper geometric concepts, gradually moving from simple perception to a fundamental understanding of the properties involved. »

/// 3 - The transition from experimentation to rigorous teaching

Under the leadership of Solène Juvin and Pascal Aymard, the experimentation was transformed into rigorous teaching, the general framework of which is known under the title of 'La Bo”te ˆ Pliages'.

These two teachers have created a set of teaching sheets, intended for teachers and students, allowing the implementation of geometry teaching based (among other things) on the practice of origam.

Deux points semblent essentiels :
- strict compliance with the primary education mathematics program,
- the systematic use of mathematical vocabulary, to which is added no less precise vocabulary from origami.

The main results of this research are contained in the dissertation entitled « la Boîte à Pliages Géométriques », presented in 2010 by Pascal Aymard for obtaining the CAEGADV.

The best is to go visit the site 2 files to download
Contents File
Pascal Aymard, « la Boîte à Pliages Géométriques » , mémoire pour obtenir le CAEGDV, 2010 PA-CAEGDV2010.pdf
Réflexions sur l'expérience d'enseignement de la géométrie à l'aide de l'origami EnsGeometrie.pdf
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