Technology, Communication, and Collaboration: Re-thinking Communities of Inquiry, Learning and Practice

A social perspective on technology-enhanced mathematical learning: from collaboration to performance

“…(Healy and Kaput 2008, p. 357) This new acknowledgement is even more evident in the study volume of the 17th ICMI study, Digital Technologies and Mathematics Teaching and Learning: Rethinking the Terrain (Hoyles and Lagrange 2009). Strong evidence for Lerman's ''turn to the social'' is found in the inclusion of an entire chapter in this study volume on social practices in learning mathematics through technology entitled Technology, Communication, and Collaboration: Re-thinking Communities of Inquiry, Learning and Practice (Beatty and Geiger 2009). The chapter traces the emergence of technology-mediated collaborative practices in mathematics classrooms, in both proximate and remote contexts, from the late 1980s until the time of the 17th ICMI symposium in 2006 and argues that this development paralleled the changing influence of different theories of learning over time, in particular, the theories generally grouped under the terms behaviorism, constructivism and socio-culturalism.…”

“…These theories of learning, at different times, have influenced curriculum development and pedagogical approaches in school classrooms which have moved toward a greater recognition of the role of social interaction in learning and teaching. Beatty and Geiger (2009) see this influence reflected in mathematics education research and report that up to 31% of papers presented at the ICMI 17 symposium focused on the role of social interaction directly or included a theoretical perspective that could be considered social in origin, indicating a noteworthy level of interest in this perspective on mathematics learning. Beatty and Geiger's (2009) chapter also detailed a topology for how different types of technology are designed or utilized to support collaborative learning communities.…”

“…Beatty and Geiger (2009) see this influence reflected in mathematics education research and report that up to 31% of papers presented at the ICMI 17 symposium focused on the role of social interaction directly or included a theoretical perspective that could be considered social in origin, indicating a noteworthy level of interest in this perspective on mathematics learning. Beatty and Geiger's (2009) chapter also detailed a topology for how different types of technology are designed or utilized to support collaborative learning communities. They argue that collaborative practices can be promoted through technologies designed for:…”

“…And in all studies, technology was viewed as a means of mediating social interaction. (Beatty and Geiger 2009) Although Beatty and Geiger (2009) document a substantial corpus of literature in the area, they conclude that social theories of learning, such as socio-culturalism and social constructivism, were conceived before technology had any great influence on mainstream mathematics classrooms. While there is now increasing interest in technology-influenced collaborative practice, much research still remains to be undertaken before the role of technology in mediating collaboration can be genuinely integrated into social theories of learning.…”

“…New technologies provide the opportunity to connect learners in ways we have only begun to explore, but it is not the technology itself that ensures the connection of learners, but how the technology is used. As argued by Beatty and Geiger (2009), a wide variety of technologies can mediate interaction, but it is how these technologies are used to support collaborative practices that makes the difference. The use of technologies to support collaborative learning practices requires new ways of learning and teaching and a new mindset about what it is to do mathematics.…”