The VITALmaths project has spawned numerous publications in diverse journals, and research projects at a Master’s level both in Switzerland and in South Africa. Research in the VITALmaths project foregrounded pedagogy and the use of the video clips as teaching tools. The subsequent and newVITALmathsLearningInContext project (VITALmathsLIC) envisages to foreground how learning can take place in different learning, communication and contextual spaces. In order to research this we would like to design teaching and learning support and scaffolding materials (such as “Arbeitsaufträge”, worksheets and manipulatives) to align with the existing and the newly developed bank of video clips. The three underlying themes and associated research questions that would frame the VITALmathsLIC project are: Communication, Mathematical language and discourse and Manipulatives.
The research orientations of our individual research projects are mostly underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm whereby we are committed to understanding the phenomena we are researching and interpreting within the social and cultural context of the participants. This implies a mostly qualitative research approach in which we employ in-depth case study research designs. Although the individual case studies shed light on specific and individual experiences, they form the basis for a broader understanding of learning with the said technologies. Further, some of the research designs contain elements of action research, whereby the findings of the research feed into the refinement of the design of newly developed video material. The resulting databank of videos thus continues to grow on the basis of this research thereby ensuring sustained relevance. The project is committed to the principle of making educational materials and media available to learners free of charge, particularly in areas of impoverishment and compromised access to information, such as the rural areas of Southern Africa. Further, the project is committed to broadening access to quality material as much as possible – this includes access in terms of language and culture. The videos are thus made available in a diversity of languages using contexts that are suitable and accessible.
Publications
2009
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H. (2009). Der Einsatz von KurzfilmenalsEinstieg in Experimentier- und Explorationsphasen In BeiträgezumMathematikunterricht 2009, Münster: WTM-Verlag, 743-746
2010
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., Schäfer, M., & Samson, D. (2010). Visual technology for the autonomous learning of mathematics. Pythagoras, 72, 27-35.
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., &Schäfer, M. (2010). Motivating mathematical exploration through the use of video-clips: a collaborative research and development project between Switzerland and South Africa. In V. Mudaly (Ed.), Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 161- 164. University of Kwazulu-Natal: SAARMSTE.
2011
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., Schäfer, M., & Samson, D. (2011). VITAL Maths: Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics. In S. Chunawala& M. Kharatmal (Eds.), Proceedings of epiSTEME 4 - International Conference to Review Research on Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (pp. 353-357). Mumbai, India: Macmillan.
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H. (2011). „Der Lernstick als Hilfe zur Binnendifferenzierung im Mathematikunterricht. In Grunder, Hans-Ulrich (Hrsg.) mLearning in der Schule. Der Lernstick als Lerninstrument. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren. 75-84.
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H. (2011). VITALmaths – ein gemeinsames Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt der Schweiz und Südafrika. In Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2011, Münster: WTM-Verlag, S.555-558.
Samson, D., Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., & Schäfer, M. (2011). VITALmaths – Transforming learning experiences through mathematical video clips. In L. Paditz& A. Rogerson (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th International Conference of The Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project (pp. 293-297). Grahamstown, South Africa.
Samson, D., Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., & Schäfer, M. (2011). Mobile technology and the autonomous learning of mathematics. In Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (SAARMSTE), Book of Short Papers (pp. 79-85). Mafikeng, South Africa.
Samson, D., Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., & Schäfer, M. (2011). VITALmaths. Oral presentation at The 10th International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching (ICTMT-10). University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK, 5-8 July, 2011.
Samson, D., Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., & Schäfer, M. (2011). VITALmaths. Learning and Teaching Mathematics, 9, 14-16.
Samson, D. & Ndafenongo, G. (2011). How I teach with cellphones. In J. Sherman (Ed.), Mathematics in a Globalised World: Proceedings of the 17th National Congress of the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA), Volume 2 (pp. 118-122). Johannesburg, South Africa.
2012
Samson, D., & Schäfer, M. (2012). Video clips and cell phones: VITALmaths in the palm of your hand. In S. Nieuwoudt, D. Laubscher & H. Dreyer (Eds.), Mathematics as an Educational Task: Proceedings of the 18th National Congress of the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA), Volume 2 (pp. 29-32). Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Schäfer, M., (2012). The use of mobile phones in the Mathematics classroom in Africa. Abstract in Proceedings of GemeinsameJahrestagung Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung (DMV) und GesellschaftfürDidaktik der Mathematik (GDM). Weingarten, Germany.
2013
Samson, D., & Schäfer, M. (2013). Cellular phones in the mathematics classroom: Experiences from South Africa. In G. Nagarjuna, A. Jamakhandi& E. M. Sam (Eds.), Proceedings of epiSTEME 5 - International Conference to Review Research on Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (pp.382-387). Mumbai, India: CinnamonTeal Publishing.
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H., Schäfer, M., & Samson, D. (2013). VITALmaths — Learning in Context („VITALmathsLIC“). In Greefrath, G., Käpnick, F., and Stein, M. (Eds.) Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2013 (pp. 620-623). Münster: WTM-Verlag.
2014
Haywood, T., &Schäfer, M. (2014). An exploration of learners’ autonomous learning of Mathematics by using selected Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips: a case study. Presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of The Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (SAARMSTE), 13 – 16 January 2014, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H. (2014). Der Einsatz mathematischer Kurzfilme als Mittel der Binnendifferenzierung. In: Bausch, Isabell, Pinkernell, Guido, Schmitt, Oliver (Hrsg.) Unterrichtsentwicklung und Kompetenzorientierung. Festschrift für Regina Bruder. (pp. 257-266). Münster: WTM-Verlag.
2015
Linneweber-Lammerskitten, H. (2015): Mathematische Videoclips zur Förderung der Sprachkompetenz In F. Caluori, H. Linneweber-Lammerskitten, C. Streit (Hrsg.), Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2015 (erscheint Ende 2015). Münster: WTM-Verlag.
Master’s theses
Frey, M. & Graser, R. (2010). Animationsfilme im Mathematikunterricht. Eine Untersuchung über den Einsatz von didaktischen Filmen als Unterstützung für den individualisierten Mathematikunterricht. Unpublished diploma thesis, PH FHNW.
Hyde, J. (2011). An investigation into the role of Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips in the teaching of Mathematics in selected South African secondary schools: A case study
Ndafenongo, G. (2011). An investigation into how cell phones can be used in the teaching of mathematics using VITALmaths video clips: a case study of two schools in Grahamstown in South Africa.
Meier, P. (2012). Wirkungsstudie zum Einsatz von mathematischen Video clips im HARMOS-Kompetenzaspekt „Erforschen und Explorieren“ Unpublished master’s thesis, PH FHNW.
Haywood, T. (2015). An exploration of learners’ autonomous learning of mathematics by using selected Visual Technology for the Autonomous Learning of Mathematics (VITALmaths) video clips: A case study.
Kangwa, L. (current). An investigation of how VITALmaths video clips on mobile phones can be used by student teachers as a visualisation tool in the teaching of Number Sense
Kellen, M. (current). Observing and evaluating creative mathematical reasoning through selected VITALmaths video clips and collaborative argumentation.
