Technology is becoming more and more integrated in mathematics teaching
and the use of technology is explicitly demanded by the curricula.
Technology can be for example integrated while conceptualizing
parameters of quadratic functions. In this thesis three technical
visualizations (classic function plotter, drag mode, and sliders) for
the manipulation of parameters of quadratic functions shall be compared
with an access without the possibility of technical visualization. For
this purpose, a Guided Discovery environment was developed, which was
conducted in an intervention study with 14 classes of grade 9 (N=383).
Different strengths and weaknesses of the individual visualizations in
favor of the dynamic visualizations by drag mode and slider are shown.
Also, different potentials and constraints of the use of technology are
visible, for example the students use the technology to test their own
hypotheses that were generated through the use of technology.
The author
Lisa Göbel completed her dissertation as a research assistant under
Prof. Dr. Bärbel Barzel in the Mathematics Education department at the
University of Duisburg-Essen. Her interests include functional thinking
and the use of technology in mathematics teaching.