In 2020, Germany and Spain experienced lockdowns of their school systems. This resulted in a new challenge for learners and teachers: lessons moved from the classroom to the children’s homes. Therefore, teachers had to set rules, implement procedures and make didactical–methodical decisions regarding how to handle this new situation. In this paper, we focus on the roles of mathematics teachers in Germany and Spain. The article first describes how mathematics lessons were conducted using distance learning. Second, problems encountered throughout this process were examined. Third, teachers drew conclusions from their mathematics teaching experiences during distance learning. To address these research interests, a questionnaire was answered by N = 248 teachers (N1 = 171 German teachers; N2 = 77 Spanish teachers). Resulting from a mixed methods approach, differences between the countries can be observed, e.g., German teachers conducted more lessons asynchronously. In contrast, Spanish teachers used synchronous teaching more frequently, but still regard the lack of personal contact as a main challenge. Finally, for both countries, the digitization of mathematics lessons seems to have been normalized by the pandemic.
The COVID-19-induced distance education was perceived as highly challenging by teachers and students. A cross-national comparison of five European countries identified several challenges occurred during the distance learning period. On this basis, the article aims to develop a theoretical framework and design requirements for distance and online learning tools. As one example for online learning in mathematics education, the ASYMPTOTE system is introduced. It will be freely available by May 2022. ASYMPTOTE is aimed at the adaptive and synchronous delivery of online education by taking a mobile learning approach. Its core is the so-called digital classroom, which not only allows students to interact with each other or with the teacher but also enables teachers to monitor their students’ work progress in real time. With respect to the theoretical framework, this article analyses to what extent the ASYMPTOTE system meets the requirements of online learning. Overall, the digital classroom can be seen as a promising tool for teachers to carry out appropriate formative assessment and—partly—to maintain personal and content-related interaction at a distance. Moreover, we highlight the availability of this tool. Due to its mobile learning approach, almost all students will be able to participate in lessons conducted with ASYMPTOTE.
Discovering mathematics in one's own environment inspires students. Numerous everyday objects offer potentials for posing interesting and motivating measuring tasks. To organize the mathematics lesson outdoors, teachers can create so-called math trails in their environment using the MathCityMap system: a web portal and a smartphone app are available to prepare and conduct a math trail. Equipped with the app and measuring tools, the students work in small groups on the object side. Hereby, the MathCityMap app supports the independent and collaborative learning of students offering hints and direct answer validation. In the following paper, the components of MathCityMap are presented.
Die Verlagerung des Unterrichtsgeschehen vom gemeinsamen Lernort Klassenraum nach Hause führt im Zuge der Covid-19-Pandemie zu einer Neuorganisation und -strukturierung des Lernens. Auf Basis empirischer Untersuchungen zum Lernen und Lehren während des Schullockdowns werden zunächst fünf inhärente Herausforderungen des Distanzlernens identifiziert. Anschließend wird mit der Smartphone-App ASYMPTOTE ein System vorgestellt, welches die Durchführung binnendifferenzierenden Distanzunterrichts im Fach Mathematik ermöglichen soll. Hierbei wird auf die Idee digitaler Lernpfade zurückgegriffen. Den Lernenden werden durch das adaptive System Aufgaben auf ihrem individuellen mathematischen Leistungsniveau zugewiesen. Weitere Entwicklungsprinzipien, welche basierend auf der Beschreibung des Covid-19-bedingten Distanzlernens identifiziert werden, sind das synchrone Lernen und die Bereitstellung eines niedrigschwelligen Systems. Nicht zuletzt soll im Rahmen des ASYMPTOTE-Projekts eine breite Aufgabenbasis mit vielfältigen Aufgabenformaten entwickelt werden.
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