MECHANICS, MODELLING AND PEDAGOGY: REFLECTIONS ON THE DESIGN OF CONTEXTS FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

Little research exists on the use of new technologies in the teaching and learning of the mathematical aspects of mechanics, although it represents a well-developed example of a mathematical model. This paper contains reflections on the possible roles for direct manipulation environments, as a preliminary to the iterative design and development of a computationally based pedagogic setting for learning mechanics. After making a comparison of existing pedagogical settings, the paper goes on to highlight the ways in which direct manipulation environments might be used for teaching and learning, by considering the connections between geometry and the semantic and syntactic structures of Newtonian Mechanics.