Analogies and metaphors in school mathematics

학교수학에서의 유추와 은유

The matter of understanding mathematical concepts in learning mathematics is one of the most important issues in mathematics education. There have been so many studies about it but the more practical study has been asked. When we Think using intuitional models such as examples, figures of speech, situations and activities, it is supposed that the major elements of cognitive mechanism are prototypes, analogies, metaphors and metonymies. In this paper, we tried to examine Rosch's prototype theory, the studies about analogies in congnitive psychology, Lakoff and Johnson's metaphor theory from the viewpoint of teaching mathematics, and then tried to analyze examples, analogies, analogical transfers, metaphorical expressions, metonymies in middle school mathematics text books used in Korea now.