Att bygga ett instrument - En instrumentell ansats till programmering som ett verktyg för problemlösning i läromedel för matematik

Recent changes in the curriculum for the Swedish upper secondary school resulted in an inclusion of programming in some of the mathematics courses. Where included, programming is described as a strategy for mathematical problem solving. Since this is a new area of mathematics in school, how programming is implemented, and its relation to problem solving is an area of interest. This study examines the implementation of programming in textbooks for the first course in mathematics for the science and technology programs. Four different textbooks are included in the study. The research question focuses on how and to what degree the textbooks support students to pick up programming as a tool for problem solving. To examine this process a framework given by the instrumental approach and instrumental orchestration is used. This includes both the didactical configuration and the exploitation mode in the textbooks. The didactical configuration is analysed using a series of descriptive questions and a classification of tasks. The tasks are classified as mathematical/technical and problem solving or not. In order to determine which tasks to classify as problem solving Lithner’s (2008) framework of creative and imitative reasoning is used. The exploitation modes are analysed using a theoretical thematic analysis, focusing on support for the instrumental genesis of the students. The results show significant differences between textbooks. The absence of problem solving in two of the textbooks is noteworthy. The two textbooks that included problem solving do this in different ways, but the analysis shows that they both lack in the treatment of the technical aspects of programming. Therefore the conclusion is that teachers, regardless the choice of textbook, must act independently in relation to the material in order to fulfil the curriculum and give students an opportunity to claim programming as a tool of their own