Multimodal Algebra Learning: From Math Manipulatives to Tangible User Interfaces

While manipulatives have played an important role in children’s mathematics development for decades, employing tangible objects together with digital systems in the classroom has been rarely explored yet. In a transdisciplinary research project with computer scientists, mathematics educators and a textbook publisher, we investigate the potentials of using tangible user interfaces for algebra learning and develop as well as evaluate a scalable system for different use cases. In this paper, we present design implications for tangible user interfaces for algebra learning that were derived from a comprehensive field study in a grade 9 classroom and an expert study with textbook authors, who also are teachers. Furthermore, we present and discuss the resulting system design.