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Cultural Symbols as Cognitive Scaffolding: A Case Study of Integrating the I Ching into Binary Number System Conversion Instruction

Author(s)

Yibing Lu*, Yawei Hu, Jing Xing, Yingxi Li

Affiliation(s)

School of Electronic Information Engineering, Xi'an Peihua University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Students can easily memorize operational rules for binary conversion in classroom learning, yet they often fail to comprehend its underlying working principles. This deficiency frequently leads to incorrect solutions when they handle variant problems. To improve this situation, this study develops a three-dimensional instructional framework that integrates cultural narration, algorithmic programming, and engineering practice. The framework takes the symbolic system of The I Ching as a cognitive support tool. Based on scaffolding theory and structure-mapping theory, the present teaching design constructs structural correlations between binary bit expansion rules and the hierarchical dichotomy logic of The I Ching. The classical cultural logic that Taiji generates the Two Forms, the Two Forms generate the Four Images, and the Four Images generate the Eight Trigrams perfectly matches the progressive expansion mechanism of binary numbers. This approach transforms traditional cultural elements from superficial classroom decoration into effective cognitive tools for abstract concept learning. Tiered programming exercises and targeted classroom implementation strategies are further adopted to consolidate teaching outcomes. This study also establishes three practical evaluation indicators to differentiate shallow cultural embedding from in-depth structural integration. The indicators cover structural mappability, instructional effectiveness, and boundary interpretability. Clear boundary interpretation is incorporated into formal instructional procedures to avoid student misunderstanding of structural analogy as historical origination. A preliminary teaching experiment was conducted among 53 students from two parallel classes of Electronic Information Engineering at Xi’an Peihua University. The core programming task completion rate reached 85 percent, and the overall in-class quiz accuracy approached 81 percent. Classroom observation reveals that boundary interpretation produces optimal instructional effects when delivered after students have established stable analogical cognition. This research provides a reusable and transferable instructional paradigm for integrating traditional indigenous culture into fundamental computer science education.

Keywords

Computing Education; Number System Conversion; STEM; Cognitive Scaffolding; Culturally Responsive Computing; I Ching

References

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