Elisabeth Rietz

About Elisabeth Rietz

In March 2012 I became a PhD student at the Linneus Centre for Research on Learning, Interaction, and Mediated Communication in Contemporary Society (LinCS). I have a Degree of Master of Science (60 credits) in Mathematics Education. The main focus concerned how girls and boys solve arithmetic tasks by using cognitive, bodily and external strategies and the similarities and differences between girls and boys.

My research interest is in the area of learning, especially in mathematics among younger children in preschool and primary school, what it is that creates the condition and difficulties for learning, and how ICT (information and communications technology) can support learning in mathematics. I also have an interest in the interaction in the classroom and the comprehension and the learning that is created in this interaction.

I am working in the project CoDAC (Conditions and tools for Development of Arithmetic Competences). This project focuses children´s development in number sense. This spring, I will work with the data analysis of produced data and compilation of texts within the project framework. Since the spring of 2014 I also work in a school development project in Mölndal.

My thesis focuses if and how digital technology can support flexible arithmetic competence. I have a special interest in children with difficulties in mathematics and arithmetic. The growing use of digital media in education will promote new effects and challenges of learning in general and mathematics in particular. Therefore, it is important to study what effects it brings to learning. The overall aim of my thesis is to study what some children (6-7 years old) are doing when they play the game Fingu (http://ipkl.gu.se/english/Research/research_projects/codac/fingu) and which learning and development that is made possible. A special focus is on the variations of methods that children are using when they solve the arithmetic tasks in the game and how the fingers are used to represent the numbers in the game.

Networks

LinCS (The Linnaeus Centre for Research on Learning, Interaction and Mediated Communication in Contemporary Society) http://lincs.gu.se/

MUL (Nya Media, Undervisning och Lärande)

Conference Papers

Barendregt, W., Lindström, B., Rietz Leppänen, E., Holgersson, I. & Ottosson, T. (2012). Development and Evaluation of Fingu: A Mathematics iPad Game Using Multi-touch Interaction, Proceedings of IDC 2012, June 12–15, 2012, Bremen, Germany, 2012 Conferens papers.