The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Divergent Perspectives in Cooperative Problem Solving: a Microgenetic Study of a 3d Geometry Construction Activity

Wei, Hang; Lomos, Catalina; Li, Xiaoran; Palatnik, Alik; Abrahamson, Dor

Abstract

‘Heteroperception’ is a socio-cognitive phenomenon where participants in a joint activity perceive shared resources differently. Rather than viewing such divergence as disruptive, we consider advantages of heteroperception for problem solving by investigating how 3 prospective math teachers co-construct a body-scale icosahedron. Data include multi-person mobile eye-tracking (MET) and synchronized MET-overlaid point-of-view videos. Across 3 microgenetic episodes, we trace a recurring triadic progression of heteroperception: implicit, explicit, resolved. We show how divergent perceptual foci coalesce discursively, tacitly negotiated through situated operations, to formulate actionable construction solutions. Heteroperception is not a bug but a feature, which teachers should anticipate, foster, valorise, and mediate.

Keywords

HeteroperceptionAttentional anchor3D geometryMobile eye-trackingEmbodied learning

Recommended citation

Wei, H., Lomos, C., Li, X., Palatnik, A., & Abrahamson, D. (2026). The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Divergent Perspectives in Cooperative Problem Solving: a Microgenetic Study of a 3d Geometry Construction Activity. In Krzywacki H., Hähkiöniemi M., Haataja E., Hannula M.S., Hästö P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 1 (pp. 1571–1578). Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME). ISSN 2790-3648.

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