Skip to main content

Mathland: Constructionist Mathematical Learning in the Real World Using Immersive Mixed Reality

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN 2018)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 840))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Mathematical experiences are intrinsic to our everyday lives, yet mathematics education is mostly confined to textbooks. Seymour Papert used the term ‘Mathland’ to propose a world where one would learn mathematics as naturally as one learns French while growing up in France. We built a Mixed Reality application that augments the physical world with interactive mathematical concepts to enable constructionist mathematical learning in the real world. Using Mathland, people can collaboratively explore, experience and experiment with mathematical phenomena in playful, applied and exploratory ways. We implemented Mathland using the Microsoft Hololens and two custom controllers to afford complete immersion through tangible interactions, embodiment and situated learning. Our preliminary study with 30 participants shows that a considerable percentage of participants found Mathland to not only be engaging (83%), but also efficacious in the areas of collaborative learning (92.8%), problem solving (96.6%) and mathematics education (90%).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Lyons, I.M., Beilock, S.L.: Mathematics anxiety: separating the math from the anxiety. Cereb. Cortex. 22, 2102–2110 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Chang, H., Beilock, S.L.: The math anxiety-math performance link and its relation to individual and environmental factors: a review of current behavioral and psychophysiological research. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 10, 33–38 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ellis, J., Fosdick, B.K., Rasmussen, C.: Women 1.5 times more likely to leave STEM pipeline after calculus compared to men: lack of mathematical confidence a potential culprit. PLoS One 11, e0157447 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Weeden, K.A., Thébaud, S., Gelbgiser, D.: Degrees of difference: gender segregation of US doctorates by field and program prestige. Sociol. Sci. 4, 123–150 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Maloney, E.A., Beilock, S.L.: Math anxiety: who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends Cogn. Sci. 16, 404–406 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Beilock, S.L., Willingham, D.T.: Math anxiety: can teachers help students reduce it? Ask the cognitive scientist. Am. Educ. 38, 28 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Dowker, A., Sarkar, A., Looi, C.Y.: Mathematics anxiety: what have we learned in 60 years? Front. Psychol. 7, 508 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Perkins, D.: The many faces of constructivism. Educ. Leadersh. 57, 6–11 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Papert, S.: Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Basic Books Inc., New York (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  10. National Research Council: Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Draper, R.J.: School mathematics reform, constructivism, and literacy: a case for literacy instruction in the reform-oriented math classroom. J. Adolesc. Adult Lit. 45, 520–529 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Papert, S., et al.: Logo Philosophy and Implementation. Logo Computer Systems Inc., Boston (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Chi, M.T.H., Feltovich, P.J., Glaser, R.: Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cogn. Sci. 5, 121–152 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Belcher, J.: From the mind’s eye to 3D animation: teaching electromagnetism with learning technology. Last Retrieved August 1, 2003 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Victor, B.: Kill Math. http://worrydream.com/KillMath/

  16. Cordova, D.I., Lepper, M.R.: Intrinsic motivation and the process of learning: beneficial effects of contextualization, personalization, and choice. J. Educ. Psychol. 88, 715 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Stock, P.: Armadillo Run. https://www.armadillorun.com/

  18. Lee, K.: Augmented reality in education and training. TechTrends 56, 13–21 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Salzman, M.C., Loftin, R.B., Dede, C., McGlynn, D.: ScienceSpace: lessons for designing immersive virtual realities. In: Conference Companion on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 89–90. ACM (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Fantastic Contraption. http://fantasticcontraption.com/

  21. Kaufmann, H.: Construct3D: an augmented reality application for mathematics and geometry education. In: Proceedings of the Tenth ACM International Conference on Multimedia, pp. 656–657. ACM (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Shapiro, L.: Embodied Cognition. Routledge, Abingdon (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Anderson, J.R., Reder, L.M., Simon, H.A.: Situated learning and education. Educ. Res. 25, 5–11 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Lakoff, G., Núñz, R.: Where Mathematics Come From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being. Basic Books, New York (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Goldin-Meadow, S., Cook, S.W., Mitchell, Z.A.: Gesturing gives children new ideas about math. Psychol. Sci. 20, 267–272 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Abrahamson, D., Gutiérrez, J., Charoenying, T., Negrete, A., Bumbacher, E.: Fostering hooks and shifts: tutorial tactics for guided mathematical discovery. Technol. Knowl. Learn. 17, 61–86 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Zuckerman, O., Arida, S., Resnick, M.: Extending tangible interfaces for education: digital montessori-inspired manipulatives. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 859–868. ACM, New York (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Bujak, K.R., Radu, I., Catrambone, R., MacIntyre, B., Zheng, R., Golubski, G.: A psychological perspective on augmented reality in the mathematics classroom. Comput. Educ. 68, 536–544 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Schmalstieg, D., Fuhrmann, A., Hesina, G., Szalavári, Z., Encarnaçao, L.M., Gervautz, M., Purgathofer, W.: The studierstube augmented reality project. Presence: Teleoper. Virtual Environ. 11, 33–54 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Slater, M., Wilbur, S.: A framework for immersive virtual environments five: speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence: Teleoper. Virtual Environ. 6, 603–616 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Kim, Y., Park, N.: Elementary education of creativity improvement using Rube Goldberg’s invention. In: Park, J., Kim, J., Zou, D., Lee, Y. (eds.) Information Technology Convergence, Secure and Trust Computing, and Data Management. LNEE, vol. 180, pp. 257–263. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5083-8_32

    Google Scholar 

  32. Wolfe, M.F., Goldberg, R.: Rube Goldberg: Inventions! Simon and Schuster, New York (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Miller, A., Rosenbaum, C., Blikstein, P.: MagneTracks: a tangible constructionist toolkit for Newtonian physics. In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction, pp. 253–256. ACM, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hestenes, D., Wells, M., Swackhamer, G.: Force concept inventory. Phys. Teach. 30, 141–158 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Media Lab Learning. http://learn.media.mit.edu/creative-learning

  36. Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., Millner, A., Rosenbaum, E., Silver, J., Silverman, B., Kafai, Y.: Scratch: programming for all. Commun. ACM 52, 60–67 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Johnson-Glenberg, M.C., Birchfield, D.A., Tolentino, L., Koziupa, T.: Collaborative embodied learning in mixed reality motion-capture environments: two science studies. J. Educ. Psychol. 106, 86 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Figure 8. https://www.figur8.me/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mina Khan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Khan, M., Trujano, F., Maes, P. (2018). Mathland: Constructionist Mathematical Learning in the Real World Using Immersive Mixed Reality. In: Beck, D., et al. Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 840. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93596-6_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93596-6_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93595-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93596-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics