Developing geometry thinking through multimedia learning activities

In this study, a multimedia learning software program named GeoCAL is described. It is based on van Hiele's geometric thinking level theory, which consists of four levels: recognition, visual association, description/analysis, and abstraction/relation. In addition to presenting the software design, this study also explores the learning effects of GeoCAL on each of the geometric thinking levels and on overall geometric thinking. The subjects of this study are second-grade elementary school students of an average age of eight who have not previously had formal lessons in geometry. The experimental results indicate that, with the exception of recognition ability, GeoCAL produces significant learning effects on visual association, description/analysis and abstraction/relation as well as overall geometric thinking.