Photography: a resource to capture outdoor math

Abstract

Several researchers refer that photography outside the classroom motivates students, for the understanding of math contents. This paper, is part of a broader project centred on active learning of mathematics outside the classroom, describes a study where elementary preservice teachers capture photos in the environment that allow task design. In particular, we want to identify what aspects of the environment were privileged by the mathematical eye of the future teachers and to understand what are their main difficulties when designing mathematical tasks. Results suggest that the participants chose photos privileging elements related with buildings, which mobilized Geometry and Measurement subjects. They expressed that the design of high-level cognitive tasks was not an easy process. The use of photography had a positive impact on them, providing a “closer look” at everyday objects, searching for the underlying mathematics more consciously, developing their “math eye”.