Parsing mathematical constructs:results from a preliminary eye tracking study

The semantic model described in this paper is based on ones developed for arithmetic (e.g. McCloskey et al. 1985, Cohene and Dehaene 1995), natural language processing (Fodor 1975, Chomsky 1981) and work by the author on how learners parse mathematical structures. The semantic model highlights the importance of the parsing process and the relationship between this process and the mathematical lexicon/grammar. It concludes by demonstrating that for a learner to become an efficient, competent mathematician a process of top-down parsing is essential.