Scratching Below the Surface: Mathematics through an Alternative Digital Lens?

A key element in the examination of how students process mathematics through digital technologies is considering the ways that digital pedagogical media might influence the learning process. How might students’ understanding emerge through engagement in a digital-learning environment? Interactive software that has cross-curricula implications and facilitates thinking in rich, problem-solving environments is emerging. Scratch, a free-todownload graphical programming environment provides opportunities for creative problem solving. This paper is part of an on-going study into the ways mathematical learning evolves through these alternative environments. It reports on a pilot research study involving 10-year-old children using Scratch to create mathematical digital learning objects, including games, and examines the ways mathematical thinking was facilitated through this process.