Identifying Critical Learner Traits in a Dynamic Computer-Based Geometry Program

The effects of students' working memory capacity, preference for amount of instruction, spatial problem-solving ability, and school mathematics grades on 2 achievement measures were investigated, along with recall of factual information and conceptual understanding after controlling for ability. Eighth-grade students were assigned to dyads and worked through 16 activities in The Geometer's Sketchpad, a dynamic geometry program. Learners who reported a relatively low preference for amount of instruction scored higher than their high-preference counterparts on the conceptual understanding test items. Students with relatively high mathematics school grades scored higher than students with lower grades on the factual recall test items but not on the conceptual understanding items. That low achievers in school mathematics performed relatively better in these nontraditional mathematics activities is an encouraging finding for mathematics educators and designers of open-ended learning environments.