Constructing mathematical meanings with digital tools: design, implementation and analysis of a teaching activity in a distance education context

Abstract

This paper presents and analyses a teaching experiment, carried out with five 12thgrade students, in a distance education context during the pandemic, in May 2020. The teaching activity, framed by the Theory of Semiotic Mediation, involved the use of a digital tool - a Dynamic Geometry Environment - and aimed at the construction of the mathematical meanings of rotation. Results are discussed in order to show whether and how the designed teaching activity, experimented in a distance education context, resulted to be effective in order to foster the students’ construction of meanings. We are willing to contribute our findings to educational discussions in Covid-19 time, offering an example of integration of technology in mathematics teaching and learning, and focusing on theoretical aspects and methodological approaches that can be taken into consideration in the attempt to create meaningful technology-rich learning environments, both in remote teaching and in a traditional educational context.