Rodney A. Nason

New ways of learning mathematics: are we ready for it?

In this paper, we report on a research project in progress in which we are attempting to establish and maintain an ICT-mediated math knowledge-building community. The paper first identifies why math knowledge-building communities are very difficult to establish and maintain and then provides evidence to support that these difficulties can be overcome by the inclusion of model-eliciting problems and new iconic math representation tools into the computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment.

Systems Thinking Approach to Robotics Curriculum in Schools

This chapter presents a systems thinking approach for the conceptualization, design, and implementation of robotics curriculum to scaffold students’ learning of important Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) concepts and processes. This approach perceives the curriculum as a system of integrated elements and allows for the investigation of the interdependencies amongst the elements and the dynamics of the curriculum as a whole. Through this approach, we believe that students can be provided with robotics curriculum units that facilitate the learning of STEM “Big Ideas” of and about STEM. A STEM “Big Idea” is central to the understanding and application of STEM across a wide range of fields, one that links numerous STEM discipline understandings. Robotics is a rich context in which students can establish deep knowledge and robust understanding of STEM “Big Ideas”. Curriculum units based on this systems thinking approach can do much to ensure that students engaged in robotics activities focus not only on the completion of robotics tasks but also on the social construction of integrated networks of authentic STEM knowledge centred around “Big Ideas” of and about STEM.