Mathematical, Cognitive, and Pedagogical Fidelity of Some Virtual Manipulatives: Elementary Teacher Candidates' Perceptions

• In Event: 16.057 - Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: 16.057-13 - Instructional Technology Application in STEM Contexts

Abstract

Virtual manipulatives as cognitive tools allow users to engage in mathematical meaning making. This research examined teacher candidates’ perceptions of the mathematical, cognitive, and pedagogical fidelity of some virtual manipulatives. Findings suggest that an assumption that the degree to which the mathematical object is faithful to the underlying mathematical properties of that object in the virtual environment has been often granted by teacher candidates to virtual manipulative designers automatically, without closer examining of the mathematical, cognitive, and/or pedagogical fidelity. Further qualitative probing was carried through to better understand the nature of such assumptions.

Author

• Mara Alagic, Wichita State University