The mathematical and technological nature of tasks containing the use of dynamic geometry software in middle and secondary school mathematics textbooks

Abstract

This study investigates the quality of tasks containing the use of dynamic geometry software (DGS) in the middle (5th–8th grade) and secondary school (9th–12th grade) mathematics textbooks in terms of mathematical and technological aspects. The DGS-related tasks in twenty-seven Turkish mathematics textbooks, approved by the Ministry of National Education, were analyzed according to the Dynamic Geometry Task Analysis Framework (Trocki & Hollebrands, Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education, 4(2), 110-138, 2018). Data analyses were conducted by using both qualitative and quantitative (descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and ANOVA) methods. The findings showed that DGS-related tasks were more common in the secondary school mathematics textbooks than in middle school mathematics textbooks. The mathematical depth level of DGS-related tasks in the middle school textbooks was significantly different from the mathematical depth level of DGS-related tasks in the secondary school textbooks. The mathematical depth levels of DGS-related tasks are quite low in middle school mathematics textbooks, and these tasks mostly cannot go beyond the practice of “drawing a shape according to the given steps”. In terms of technological actions, most of the DGS-related tasks often required only drawing. Sliding and dragging, which are required to see invariant relationships within geometrical obje cts, were uncommon in textbook DGS-related tasks. The quantitative results also showed that DGS-related tasks with a high level of mathematical depth have a high number of technological actions. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are given for improving the use of DGSs in textbooks as well as for further research on this topic.