Mathematical strategies and emergence of socially mediated metacognition within a multi-touch Dynamic Geometry Environment

• Published in: Educational studies in mathematics 2023-02, Vol.112 (2), p.289-307
• Main Authors: Hegedus, Stephen J., Otálora, Yenny
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Computer Software; Computer Uses in Education; Cooperative Learning; Education; Elementary School Students; Geometry; Grade 4; Learning Strategies; Mathematical analysis; Mathematics; Mathematics Activities; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Skills; Metacognition; Problem Solving; Social aspects; Study and teaching
• ISSN: 0013-1954; 1573-0816
• DOI: 10.1007/s10649-022-10170-4

Our research aimed to investigate the potential learning benefits to young children of implementing digital interactive multimodal technologies that provide both visual and haptic experiences in elementary mathematics classrooms. We studied the ways in which fourth-grade students collaboratively create collective strategies for solving mathematical problems utilizing dynamic geometry software with multi-touch interfaces, a combination we call a multi-touch Dynamic Geometry Environment . We examine in-depth two case studies each illustrating how mathematical strategies, collaboration, and socially mediated metacognition emerge in the small groups of children while working on an activity using the Geometer’s Sketchpad® on the iPad to make sense of an intuitive idea of covariation . We found that children’s interactions with their peers, the interviewer, and the mDGE favored the emergence of varied collaborative behaviors and socially mediated metacognitive processes that fostered the co-construction and development of mathematical strategies over a short period of time.