Chapter 6: Development of the Shape Makers Geometry Microworld: Design Principles and Research

In this chapter, I discuss various design issues and research/theoretical frameworks that have guided my development, use, and analysis of the Shape Makers (Battista, 1998, 2003) computer environment for teaching middle school geometry. To help the reader understand the design process, historical glimpses of the creation of the environment are included in the discussion. I first briefly describe the Shape Makers environment. Then I discuss conceptual frameworks used in the design of the environment, various design considerations, the nature of student thinking as students work in the environment, and finally, subsequent theory development resulting from research on students’ learning in the environment.