Measuring in dynamic geometry environments as a tool for conjecturing and proving

This paper sits within the research on the affordances of new technologies in the mathematics classroom and focuses on a specific feature that is available in dynamic geometry environments, i.e. measuring tools, within the context of conjecturing and proving in open geometry problems. We develop a classification of different modalities of measuring, based on our previous work on dragging. The modalities are illustrated through the analysis of 15–16 year-old students' proving processes, which focuses on how these modalities relate to the moves between the spatio-graphical field and the theoretical field and may either support or hinder the proving process. The classification of the modalities of measuring enables researchers to access students' cognitive processes and teachers to be aware of the different possible uses and interpretation of measuring, giving them tools to support students when difficulties arise.