Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 39 Issue 2, June 2002
56 – 57
Logical Reasoning Through Classification
Lynn M. Gordon Calvert
Logical reasoning skills developed through sorting, classifying and ordering activities are essential precursors to recognizing, extending and generalizing patterns and provide a foundation for understanding formal and abstract algebra in later years. While students may succeed at classifying data and objects that involve specific topics in mathematics (for example, pyramids, prime numbers and algebraic expressions), it is valuable for them to recognize that classification schemes are all based on similar forms of logical structures, whether in mathematics, science, biology or everyday life.
