Abstract:

Programming education is a hot topic in many countries around the world. Also in Sweden this topic has received a lot of attention lately due to formal introduction of programming curriculum as of 2018. Mathematics is one of the subjects that is most affected by the curriculum changes as the government in Sweden has decided that teachers of mathematics are to teach programming in compulsory school in order to support problem-solving in mathematics. Albeit there are some previous research investigating questions related to how programming can enhance mathematics education, for instance in form of the seminal work of Papert through the LOGO language, more research is required that scrutinize how new programming languages, such as visual block programming languages as Scratch can be used for such purposes. It is against such a background this paper present how two teachers that together with 70 pupils in primary school and during the span of two years systematically have explored the use Scratch programming as a mean to learn mathematics. We also report on the teachers’ reflections on what they perceive is learned by the pupils in relation to the didactical methods employed.

Keywords:

Programming education, mathematics, didactics, scratch.