Designing Geometry 2.0 learning environments: a preliminary study with primary school students

Abstract

The information and communication technologies of Web 2.0 are arriving in our schools, allowing the design and implementation of new learning environments with great educational potential. This article proposes a pedagogical model based on a new geometry technology-integrated learning environment, called Geometry 2.0, which was tested with 39 sixth grade students from a public school in Madrid (Spain). The main goals of the study presented here were to describe an optimal role for the mathematics teacher within Geometry 2.0, and to analyse how dynamic mathematics and communication might affect young students’ learning of basic figural concepts in a real setting. The analyses offered in this article illustrate how our Geometry 2.0 model facilitates deeply mathematical tasks which encourage students’ exploration, cooperation and communication, improving their learning while fostering geometrical meanings.

Keywords:

• technology-integrated learning environments
• teacher's role
• figural concepts
• geometry teaching
• communication
• primary mathematics education

Acknowledgements

The authors are especially grateful to the students and teachers who made this study possible.

Additional information

Funding

This work has been partially funded by the programme ‘Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora de la Calidad Docente 2010-2012’ [grant numbers 134 and 383] from the Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). The first author was partially supported by the Real Colegio Complutense (Harvard University, USA) in July 2010.