Creating mathematical artifacts: Extending children's engagement with math beyond the classroom

Math manipulatives help children understand abstract concepts through concrete interactions. in this paper, I describe children's use of a computational manipulative and how that use spread beyond the classroom context. The manipulative supports children as they attempt to make connections between the abstract targeted content (in this case, fractions and symmetry) and concrete instantiations of those concepts (in this case, quilt block designs they have created). The children engaging with the software in this socio-technical environment were excited about creating designs to share, and they talked about their designs in a mathematical way. Their math talk seemed to be supported in many ways during the activities, and the artifacts they created extended their engagement with this learning activity outside of math class.