Meaning making in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom through touch screen technology

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of two sixth-grade students’ use of an iPad as an instructional tool for mathematics. Based on their written and oral responses, we investigated and analyzed their meaning making process with mathematical content in a classroom where the iPad was a central tool for teaching practices. The analyses were based on Steinbring’s [(2005). The construction of new mathematical knowledge in classroom interaction: An epistemological perspective (Vol. 38). Springer] framework, which we applied to understand how students construct meaning for mathematical concepts. The analysis showed that the students constructed mathematical knowledge by forming associations between contexts represented by the activities and by mathematical symbols and signs. The findings suggest the possibility that touchscreen technology reinforces the link between mathematical content, mathematical representations, and tangible experiences.