An instrumental approach on students’ work with digital items in mathematics

This poster proposal presents an early-stage research study investigating students work on innovative spreadsheet items from an instrumental approach. This theoretical lens scrutinizes the interrelations between technology and mathematical thinking. The overall research aim is to shed light on important factors that need to be taken into account whenever similar items in mathematics are applied in summative digital assessment, in this case the Swedish national tests in mathematics for Grade 9. The purpose of this study is to examine students’ instrumented techniques, along with instrumented action schemes in the process of digital genesis. The research is framed by technical problems, students’ described opportunities and constraints, and also how this relates to their conceptual understanding. One of the arguments of digital assessment in mathematics is construct broadening. At the same time, it is crucial that tests assess mathematical competencies, and do not introduce construct-irrelevant variance. In this context the tests need to emphasize the intended mathematics and not computer skills. The importance of studying students work with digital items is thus based on validity concerns. The presented study pinpoints such concerns related to instrumental techniques applied (or not applied) by students when solving items with a spreadsheet component.