LEARNING WITHIN DYNAMIC GEOMETRY SYSTEMS: STUDENTS’VOICES

Journal of Computer and Education Research, 2019

This research firstly aims to reveal the pedagogical potentials and limitations of dynamic geometry software (DGS). For this purpose, research on Cabri (2D/3D/Plus), the Geometer's Sketchpad, GoogleSketchUp, GeoGebra and Logo software was reviewed and compiled. As a result of the research, it appears that DGS offers an effective pedagogical environment because of its ability to interact with digital materials and allow for geometric objects to be seen from all sides. However, we found that teachers have some problems in combining DGS with class pedagogy. In this study, the effects of gender, age, education level, skill in using technology and the influence of professional experience were also examined in relation to primary school mathematics teachers' preferences in using DGS. As a result of this research, it was found that GeoGebra and Cabri were the mostused DGS packages by primary school mathematics teachers, while other geometry software was less preferred by teachers.

1988

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2018

This paper reports on an aspect of a larger research study conceptualised within a teacher development project in Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province. The project was initiated with the objective to develop appropriate skills to use dynamic geometry software (DGS) effectively and strategically as a teaching and learning tool for mathematics. The study reported in this paper aims specifically to ascertain how selected mathematics teachers integrated co-developed technologically aided visualisation tools in the observed lessons. The case study involved two teachers from different schools. The data sources were the classroom observations followed by stimulated reflective interviews with the teachers. The data were analysed to study the use of DGS visualisation tools in relation to Kilpatrick's framework of teaching proficiency. The lessons evidenced a displayed alignment with the elements of teaching proficiency in the context of teaching geometry. The dynamic visualisation opportunities offered by DGS proved to supplement the teaching repertoire for the participating teachers. Pedagogical practices influence the use of DGS, as evident from the lessons when the participating teachers incorporated collaboratively developed GeoGebra applets into their classrooms. We argue that the collaborative engagement between teachers appears to be a positive way forward in closing the gap between having access to technology and adapting it for effective use in mathematics classrooms.

2012

The purpose of the research was to learn about students' attitudes toward and evaluation of the pedagogical procedure based on integrating dynamic geometry software (DGS) in dealing with construction problems in geometry. The research population consisted of mathematical education students. It was observed that the students preferred to use DGS when dealing with construction problems and appreciated the dynamic features of DGS to a large extent, and that the developed pedagogical procedure improved the students’ mode of usage of the computerized environment. We suggest that the explored teaching procedure enables students to construct and assimilate more complete and wide-scale knowledge. Integrating Technology in the Classroom ‐ Benefits and Problems Over the few last decades technology has become an important component of mathematical education. Numerous recent studies have indicated that integration of technology into math classrooms has a significant impact on teaching mathe...

This study presents the variety of learning activities performed by mathematics teachers using the tools of the well-known educational software Cabri-Geometry II, within the context of a Virtual Community Collaborative Space for Science Education (VccSSe; European Commission Project number:128989-CP-1-2006-1-RO-COMENIUS-C21). Specifically, eight essential and innovative approaches for the design of learning activities were formed by these teachers, namely: a) Forming/verifying conjectures by focusing on the alteration of a geometrical construction using the drag-mode operation, b) Forming/verifying conjectures by focusing on the numerical data automatically collected during the alteration of a geometrical construction using the drag-mode operation, c) Verifying a formula by focusing on the numerical data automatically collected during the alteration of a geometrical construction using the drag-mode operation, d) Multiple Representation-based activities, e) Constructions simulating real-life problems, e) Black-box activities, g) a scenario-based approach emphasizing the formation of networks of learning concepts and h) Multiple-solution activities.

2016

Students learning experiences were investigated in geometry lesson when using Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) tool in geometry learning in 25 Ethiopian secondary students.The research data were drawn from the used worksheets, classroom observations, results of pre- and post-test, a questionnaire and interview responses. I used GeoGebra as a DGS tool with research questions relating to the aspects of (1) motivation, (2) interactions and discussions, (3) student-centered learning, (4) conceptual understanding, and (5) Problem _solving strategies. The questions were embedded in an instructional research intervention. The intervention comprised the use of worksheets and applets we developed through GeoGebra.The results showed that the use of a DGS tool with the presence of other factors, such as group work and the use of worksheets brought about certain changes in students ‘learning experiences ’ of the geometrical concepts. Students were well motivated, but discussion and interaction w...

We report on a case study of a teacher’s implementation of a CSCL project to understand how teachers’ pedagogical interventions influence students’ mathematical reasoning in a collaborative, dynamic geometry environment. A high school teacher engaged a class of students in the Virtual Math Teams with GeoGebra environment (VMTwG) to solve geometric tasks that the research team designed to promote collaboration and mathematical justification. The VMTwG allows users to share both GeoGebra and chat windows to engage in joint problem solving. Our analysis of the teacher’s implementation and his students’ interactions in VMTwG shows how his technological and pedagogical content knowledge, revealed through his instructional interventions, shaped his students’ movement among empirical explorations and deductive justifications.

Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education

This case provides readers with an opportunity to consider issues pertaining to the use of instructional technologies in the mathematics classroom. As a narrative case based on a lesson observed in a real classroom, the case reflects the complexities of this context, yet was written to highlight certain themes relevant to teaching mathematics with technology. In particular, how students use dynamic geometry software to explore mathematical relationships, how they engage with the Standards for Mathematical Practice, and the important role of the teacher in this process are prominent themes in the lesson.

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 1995

One of the reasons teachers may resist the use of computers in the mathematics classrooms is the change that this introduction implies about the kind of problems fostering the acquisition of knowledge by the pupil. Some old problems become uninteresting in the new environment. Conversely computers allow the design of some new problems that are impossible in a paper and pencil environment. In our paper we consider the computer as part of the "milieu didactique" : as such it offers specific representations of knowledge, specific facilities and specific feedback to the pupils. We will discuss the role of these characteristics on the way mathematical objects may be perceived on the interface by the pupils and on the solving processes of the pupils when they are confronted to problem situations on the computer, using the geometry program Cabri-geometre.

To understand learners’ appropriation of technological tools and geometrical understanding, we draw on the theory of instrumental genesis (Lonchamp, 2012; Rabardel & Beguin, 2005), which seeks to explain how learners accomplish tasks interacting with tools. To appropriate a tool, learners develop their own knowledge of how to use it, which turns the tool into an instrument that mediates an activity between learners and a task. The tool used in our study is the Virtual Math Teams with GeoGebra (VMTwG) environment. It contains a chat panel and multiuser version of GeoGebra. The learners are seven middle and high school mathematics teachers who participated in a professional development course in which they collaborated synchronously in VMTwG to solve geometrical tasks. We use conventional content analysis to analyze the work of a team consisting of two high school teachers. Our analysis shows that the teachers’ appropriation and application of the dragging feature of VMTwG shaped their understanding of geometrical relations, particularly dependencies. This informs the broader question of how and what mathematical knowledge learners’ construct using certain technologies.