ERIC Number: EJ1279797
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2227-7102
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Teachers' Perspectives on the Intertwining of Tangible and Digital Modes of Activity with a Drawing Robot for Geometry
Baccaglini-Frank, Anna E.; Santi, George; Del Zozzo, Agnese; Frank, Eric
Education Sciences, v10 Article 387 2020
The GeomBot is a drawing robot that combines the well-known strengths and opportunities offered by Scratch with those of Papert's original robotic drawing-turtle. In this study we look at the GeomBot as a physical programmable artifact around which action research with a group of teachers and a researcher was carried out with the aim of designing, implementing and discussing geometry activities for primary school classes. The aim of this article is to investigate teachers' positioning and perspectives with respect to the activities and the educational environment emerging around the Geombot in the action research. The action research meetings between September 2018 and June 2019 included nine primary school teachers from seven different Italian schools, who met regularly with the first author. After the design and experimentation sessions, in June 2019, the teachers shared their experiences during a final meeting and group discussion guided by the first author. The data collected from the teachers were analyzed using cultural categories from the Semiotic Systems of Cultural Signification, theorized by the Theory of Objectification, to identify the most significant features defining the teachers' perspectives and identity. The seven emergent features cover teachers' positioning with respect to: forms of rationality and language and languages: sensuous cognition and the use of ideal and material semiotic resources; accepted teaching practices, problems and situations; mathematical knowledge; the conception of the student; social interaction and forms of rationality; ethical issues; technology.
Descriptors: Robotics, Geometry, Mathematics Instruction, Programming Languages, Action Research, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Teachers, Mathematics Teachers, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Semiotics, Ethics, Educational Technology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
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Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Italy
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A