A constructionist approach to mathematical generalisation
Eirini Geraniou, Manolis Mavrikis, Celia Hoyles, Richard Noss · IOE EPrints · 2008
The work presented here arises from the MiGen project, which aims at designing, building and evaluating a pedagogical and technical environment for improving 11- 14 year-old students’ learning of mathematical generalisation. This paper presents the preliminary analysis of the initial data collected in 24 sessions with year 6 and year 7 students. During these sessions, a prototype microworld was used to explore the range of functionalities we require, and collect initial data regarding students’ strategies and potential prompts that the system could ultimately provide to both students and teachers. A key design objective is to develop an environment that makes it as natural as possible for students to express generality, and a means to do so, rather than simply encourage them to consider special cases, or spot patterns.