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The COVID-19 pandemic and the requirement for social distancing led to the closure of extracurricular activities that usually involve teamwork and collaboration, such as math clubs. Research on the design and effectiveness of extracurricular mathematical activities that aim to promote student interest and improve mathematical skills is limited, particularly in these challenging times. This exploratory case study examines an online after-school program, the Tecn@Mat Club, aimed at promoting middle grade students' ability in solving mathematical problems with digital technologies during the pandemic. Based on document analysis, observation of the club sessions, questionnaires, and interviews with the participants (students and a mathematics education expert), this research documents the design and implementation of the Tecn@Mat Club, as well as its participants' experiences and perspectives regarding the activity in which they engaged. The main results show the feasibility of adapting in-person, after-school math activities for an online setting, engaging middle grade students in mathematical problem-solving with technology by providing moderate mathematical challenges and promoting collaborative work. Results of a SWOT analysis (the acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) allow for the identification of the key features to preserve and challenges to overcome in future replications of the club. Limitations of this study and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operations Research (OR) is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with optimization problems arising from different real contexts. The solving process of its problems is based on the construction and resolution of mathematical models, showing the possible connections between mathematics and the real world. Nevertheless, OR is not typically included in most curricula of higher secondary schools (i.e. Grades 9–12), but it is usually presented mainly at university level. To show how OR could be significant for these school students' education, the authors of this paper developed an educational project consisting of three teaching units. In this paper, we share the result of the teaching experiment related to the first unit, addressed to Grade 10. Qualitative and quantitative analyses show how it is appropriate to include OR and its typology of problems in regular school mathematics lectures. Second, these data also show how modelling and problem-solving skills, developed working with OR, can be fostered by implementing a collaborative way of working, also by making use of digital technologies. Last but not least, we demonstrate the positive impact such activities have on students' appreciation of OR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the requirement for social distancing led to the closure of extracurricular activities that usually involve teamwork and collaboration, such as math clubs. Research on the design and effectiveness of extracurricular mathematical activities that aim to promote student interest and improve mathematical skills is limited, particularly in these challenging times. This exploratory case study examines an online after-school program, the Tecn@Mat Club, aimed at promoting middle grade students’ ability in solving mathematical problems with digital technologies during the pandemic. Based on document analysis, observation of the club sessions, questionnaires, and interviews with the participants (students and a mathematics education expert), this research documents the design and implementation of the Tecn@Mat Club, as well as its participants’ experiences and perspectives regarding the activity in which they engaged. The main results show the feasibility of adapting in-person, after-school math activities for an online setting, engaging middle grade students in mathematical problem-solving with technology by providing moderate mathematical challenges and promoting collaborative work. Results of a SWOT analysis (the acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) allow for the identification of the key features to preserve and challenges to overcome in future replications of the club. Limitations of this study and future research directions are discussed.

This study aims at understanding the role of the tools chosen throughout the processes of solving a non-routine mathematical problem and communicating its solution. In assuming that problem-solving is a synchronous activity of mathematization and expression of mathematical thinking we take our proposed Mathematical Problem Solving with Technology (MPST) model to analyze the processes of solving-and-expressing-problems. Resorting to qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, we report on the case of an 8th grader working on a covariation problem to examine the role that paper-and-pencil and digital tools play in the development of a conceptual model of the situation. We found that the resources used throughout the solving-and-expressing activity influenced the depth of the conceptual model developed, within a process of progressive mathematization. Whereas paper-and-pencil led to the emergence of a conceptual model based on exploring particular cases, the digital transformation of the solution was triggered by the process of communicating its mathematical justification and expanded the previous model. Moreover, the complexity of this activity is evidenced by its multiple sequences of processes. Finally, the integration process seems crucial as the concomitant use of technological and mathematical resources precedes major advancements in the expansion of the conceptual model.

This study offers a view on students' technology-based problem solving activity through the lens of a theoretical model which accounts for the relationship between mathematical and technological knowledge in successful problem solving. This study takes a qualitative approach building on the work of a 13-year-old girl as an exemplary case of the nature of young students' spontaneous mathematical problem solving with technology. The empirical data comprise digital records of her approaches to two problems from a web-based mathematical competition where she resorted to GeoGebra and an interview where she explains and describes her usual problem solving activity with this tool. Based on a proposed model for describing the processes of mathematical problem solving with technologies (MPST), the main results show that this student's solving and expressing the solution are held from the early and continuing interplay between mathematical skills and the perception of the affordances of the tool. The analytical model offers a clear picture of the type of actions that lead to the solution of each problem, revealing the student's ability to deal with mathematics and technology in problem solving. By acknowledging this as a case of a human-with-media in solving mathematical problems, the students' efficient way of merging technological and mathematical knowledge is portrayed in terms of her techno-mathematical fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]