Sánchez, E. & Sacristán, A.I. (2003). Influential Aspects of Dynamic Geometry Activities In the Construction of Proofs (original) (raw)

We present results from a study which investigated the influence of dynamic geometrybased activities in the development of proving skills (in geometry) in high-school students (15-16 years of age). After a 12-week course on Cabri and the writing of conjectures and proofs, students were asked to write and prove conjectures based on their observations in six Cabri-based activities. We analyzed the written data in the light of Balacheff's work (1987, 1999). Although progress is shown on the level of the development of knowledge, in that the objects and their relationships become more meaningful, there are still many difficulties in decontextualizing the activities and in the development of a functional language, necessary for the passage from pragmatic to intellectual tools.