Reasoning and Sensemaking Through the Use of Technology in Mathematics

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Technology and Games in Mathematics Learning

Abstract

We examined the work of ten eighth-grade students who used a dynamic geometry environment in two lessons designed to foster reasoning and sense making habits. We asked, how did students’ reasoning and sense making vary over time and according to the content of the lesson? We collected data from two classroom interventions and coded transcripts to identify specific reasoning and sense making habits. We found differences in students’ performance of habits including identifying relevant concepts, making connections among representations, organizing a solution, and justifying a solution. These differences indicate the importance of task design in relation to the use of a technology tool for fostering students’ reasoning and sense making.

Authors

• Anna Fricano DeJarnette, University of Cincinnati

• Edana Wilke, University of Cincinnati