Influence of Tasks with GeoGebra Software on the Development of Mathematical Competence in Engineering Students

Abstract

This article deals with the design and implementation of tasks with GeoGebra software in the mathematics classroom of engineering courses and the competency development involved when students perform them. As for the tasks, they were categorized into four levels according to their cognitive demand, the student-software interaction, and the relationship between mathematical concepts that each one proposes. Through a teaching experiment in a Calculus I commission, we analyzed the influence of GeoGebra on the development of mathematical competence in tasks of different levels, two of which are presented in this work. The analysis of the results reveals that, in the tasks with medium cognitive demand and guided instructions for their resolution, it is possible to evidence specific mathematical abilities developed by the students. However, the result is adverse in those where the cognitive demand and student-software interaction is high. The students did little exploration in order to conjecture and did not formally justify what they were able to visualize with the software. This evidenced a low competency performance in this type of task and highlights the relevance of social interaction in the classroom and the teacher's guidance.