Il costrutto dello Scaffolding come chiave per uno studio qualitativo di attività matematiche proposte sia in un ambiente cartaceo sia in uno tecnologico

The aim of this thesis is to understand which characteristics of an educational video game can support students in solving mathematical problems. From the analysis of the literature, we have identified how feedback is a common element in such media and is considered by many scholars as a scaffolding strategy. The latter term refers to the type of support offered by a more knowledgeable individual to a less experienced one in order to achieve specific goals. Drawing from various works on scaffolding, it has emerged that strategies can be activated both through the interaction between two individuals and through the use of material or a device. In order to investigate the potential of an educational video game, it became necessary to introduce another form of support, a traditional paper-based one, free from any dynamics related to the novelty and immersiveness typical of technology-based approaches. To this end, we initially designed a set of mathematical tasks that could be incorporated into two support materials, an educational video game, and a set of paper worksheets. Subsequently, we conducted a field study involving four fourth-grade classes in primary school, with two of them experimenting with the video game in pairs, while the others worked on the same exercises in pairs using the worksheets. In addition to administering tasks, we also organized classroom discussions to clarify and establish connections between the exercises and important mathematical concepts. Our goal was to investigate the scaffolding strategies activated by students during the resolution of tasks presented in the two support materials, both of which already incorporate some strategies, as well as to identify the characteristics of these materials that facilitate classroom discussions. The latter were structured based on the written responses on the paper materials and the game data. From the analysis of peer interactions, it emerged that in both conditions, the majority of pairs activated almost the same set of scaffolding strategies to solve mathematical problems. However, there are dynamics more closely related to the technological medium, such as the desire to achieve a higher score, competition, and, above all, the engaging aspect of the gaming experience, which may have discouraged students from activating additional scaffolding strategies. In addition, we found that the feedback from the video game provided a sense of security, which, in many cases, led students not to seek expert intervention. Finally, it appears that active monitoring during the resolution of exercises is effective in understanding students' procedures, while game data provides more information for selecting students' responses.