Peirce’s Theory of Semiotics as Applied to the Vaughn System of Multiplication
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Date
1992
Abstract
This paper will present the theory of semiotic [sic] by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), and relate this theory to an elementary mathematics program entitled the “Vaughn System of Multiplication.” Peirce asserted that a common property of signs exists where actions or experiences can be expressed in a triadic structure, such that a sign stands for an object or interpretant. Peirce emphasized that the interpretant stands in the same triadic relation to the object, as does the original sign. Thus, signs generate relations to other signs.
In the Vaughn System of Multiplication, students learn the basic one hundred multiplication facts by visual memory of pictures and their association with sounds. This system has enhanced children’s mathematical learning, largely because of the relationship it establishes, first between the multiplication fact and a picture, and then the picture and a corresponding sound. This paper will show that the Vaughn System of Multiplication is an example of Peirce’s semiotic theory in practice.
Comments
This document is available in the Northwestern Archives.