Learning mathematics through programming: An instrumental approach to potentials and pitfalls

Morten Misfeldt (1) , Stine Ejsing-Duun (1)

1 AAU - Aalborg University [Denmark]

In this paper, we explore the potentials for learning mathematics through programming by a combination of theoretically derived potentials and cases of practical pedagogical work. We propose a model with three interdependent learning potentials as programming which can: (1) help reframe the students as producers of knowledge and artifacts, (2) support abstraction and encapsulation, and (3) promote thinking in algorithms. Programming is a topic that has recently gained interest in primary and lower secondary education levels in various countries, and hence a specific analysis of the potentials in relation to mathematics is paramount. Analyzing two cases, we suggest a number of ways in which didactical attention to epistemic mediation can support learning mathematics.

Mots clés: Programming; Constructionism; APOS theory; Algorithmic thinking; instrumental approach

Domaines: Education; Histoire et perspectives sur les mathématiques [math.HO]

Morten Misfeldt, Stine Ejsing-Duun. Learning mathematics through programming: An instrumental approach to potentials and pitfalls. CERME 9 - Ninth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education; ERME, Feb 2015, Prague, Czech Republic. pp.2524-2530. ⟨hal-01289367⟩