Visual Anchoring Strategies for Conceptual Understanding in Mathematics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22934384Keywords:
conceptual understanding, diagrammatic representation, mathematics instruction, representation linking, secondary mathematics, visual anchoringAbstract
This study examined how visual anchoring strategies contributed to conceptual understanding in secondary Mathematics instruction in San Pablo, Isabela. Using an analytical cross-sectional design with permutation-based explanatory modeling, data were gathered from 30 public secondary Mathematics teachers selected through simple random sampling. A validated researcher-developed questionnaire measured diagrammatic representation, graphical and spatial visualization, visual cueing, representation linking, and observed dimensions of learners’ conceptual understanding. Descriptive statistics, permutation-based multiple regression, bootstrap confidence intervals, and dominance analysis were employed. Results showed a high overall use of visual anchoring strategies, although representation linking registered the lowest mean and remained only moderate. Learners demonstrated stronger relational reasoning and mathematical explanation than representational transfer and application to unfamiliar tasks. The regression model explained 61.0% of the variance in conceptual understanding, with representation linking emerging as the strongest predictor, β = .43, p = .006. Dominance analysis further showed that representation linking accounted for 41.0% of the explained variance, followed by diagrammatic representation and graphical and spatial visualization. Visual cueing did not independently contribute significantly when the other strategies were considered. The findings revealed a clear instructional gap: the strategy with the strongest contribution to conceptual understanding was also the least consistently practiced. Greater emphasis on linking visual, symbolic, graphical, and verbal representations is therefore recommended to strengthen representational transfer and conceptual application in secondary Mathematics.
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