In both research and practice, there is a growing interest in mathematical modelling using digital tools. The use of such tools is not limited to the mathematical working phase but is observed across many phases of the modelling process. Nevertheless, how digital tools support and influence the development of modelling competency and its sub-competencies is, as yet, only partially explored. This review examines the characteristics of research on modelling with digital tools, their impact on the development of modelling competency and its sub-competencies, and which modelling activities using tools are associated with which sub-competencies. The findings show a focus on qualitative approaches and tools such as GeoGebra and math trail apps. Positive influences on modelling competency were found, but they depend heavily on tool use and study design, and are therefore often not generalisable. Students’ tool-based activities were most frequently reported during mathematisation, working mathematically, and validation. This review identifies major research gaps, particularly regarding quantitative evidence, and under-researched sub-competencies and tools. Overall, the results provide a structured overview of the current state of research and underscore the potential digital tools have to foster modelling competency, while highlighting the need for more robust and diversified empirical investigations.
Digital one-to-one educational environments, in which all students in a classroom are equipped with the same digital device, are becoming increasingly prominent and widespread. Furthermore, the deployment of technology has become increasingly critical to teaching mathematics. Still, many teachers struggle to integrate technology appropriately into their teaching. Conversely, some teachers expertly incorporate technology into their classrooms, raising the question of which aspects of teaching with technology account for this difference. To explore this effective technology integration, we conducted semi-structured interviews with mathematics teachers who consistently use technology-enhanced learning environments in digital one-to-one settings. We aimed to uncover phenomena that underpin their successful practices. Using qualitative content analysis within a constructivist grounded theory framework, five phenomena were identified: Student Autonomy, Student Motivation, Pedagogical and Technical Usability of Learning Material, Pedagogical Versatility, and Resources. Additionally, the teachers viewed the shift toward student-centred learning not as a challenge, but as an opportunity. Our findings suggest that professional development and teacher education programs should specifically address the changing role of the teacher in the classroom to prepare teachers for student-centred, technology-enhanced classroom settings, on the one hand, and the identified phenomena that shape teachers’ technology adoption, on the other hand.
Although digital learning tools are rapidly advancing and offer significant opportunities for enhanced education, challenges remain in optimizing early mathematics learning and supporting the development of self-regulation in young children. Teachers’ scaffolding plays a critical role in supporting this learning, but its effectiveness depends on a clear understanding of each child’s current level of understanding. This intervention project, informed by a realist evaluation perspective and focused on scaffolding, involved the co-design of a digital teacher tool that visualizes children’s learning trajectories in early mathematics and provides instructional guidance. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of affordances provided by digital educational resources through the evaluation of the functionality of a teacher tool, focusing on how teachers reason about its use. Drawing on interview data and bi-weekly meetings with 23 preschool teachers, the findings provide support for the program theory and suggest that the tool supports individualized scaffolding by making children’s learning progress visible, thereby enabling instruction aligned with each child’s zone of proximal development.
Problem solving in mathematics requires students to apply mathematical competencies, including effectively communicating their reasoning. Here, we consider the use of technologies in mathematics education to promote cross-national collaboration between students in discussions triggered by problem-solving activities. We focus on a novel form of mathematical discussion facilitated by the online platform Padlet. This discussion begins in Padlet, where students propose their solutions to a mathematics problem using posts that might incorporate various communication registers. In our experiment, this platform facilitated collaboration between classes from different countries, as paired classes from Argentina, Canada, and Italy exchanged their Padlets with each other. This promoted collaborative efforts between students from different countries. Thus, Padlet became a medium for multilevel classroom discussions. In this snapshot, our aim is to consider the perspective of the teachers involved in this collaboration. Thus, we conducted a SWOT analysis based on teachers’ voices to highlight the potentialities and limitations of promoting such international mathematical collaboration and discussion. This prompted the formulation of new strategies to enhance the achievement of such transnational mathematical discussion.
This study explores computational thinking in the context of mathematics-related tasks in the Emil the Collector programming environment, developed as a computational tool for primary school pupils. Building on Brennan and Resnick’s (2012) framework for computational thinking, together with levels of control and dimensions of representation in the Emil the Collector environment, we conducted a desk-based task analysis of mathematics-related tasks and associated design features. Our analysis identifies sequences as the sole computational concept explicitly addressed through task design in this context. On this basis, we introduce sequencing practices as an analytic construct and propose a task-level framework comprising five interrelated categories of sequencing practices, each linked to associated processes, levels of control and specific design features of the Emil the Collector environment. Selected classroom episodes from three pairs of fourth-grade pupils in a Norwegian primary school are included illustratively; to show how particular categories of sequencing practices can become visible. The proposed framework highlights a task-level progression in how sequencing is embedded across mathematics-related tasks, showing how specific design features such as early conditional language, greyed-out squares, sequence markers, and tray structure different sequencing practices in primary mathematics. The study offers insights for computing curricular design, associated programming environment development, and future research on how to support pupils’ deeper computational engagement in structured learning contexts.
