Toward Student Agency in the Selection and Use of Digital Resources for Learning and Studying Mathematics

In this chapter we review the recent mathematics education research literature through the “lens of resources,” asking (1) what kinds of resources students select and use and (2) which factors influence their selection and use of resources, in order to develop insights into learning environments that may foster student agency (in the selection and use of digital resources). Results from the literature review show that there are four factors that influence students’ selection and use of digital resources: (1) the availability and nature of resources; (2) the nature and structure of the course and its associated pedagogical approaches; (3) institutional framework; and (4) student beliefs and goals. From these, we developed the notion of what we referred to as “agentic” environments, and we characterized such “agentic” learning environments. We concluded that “agency” in the kinds of digital learning environments we reviewed was “distributed,” in particular the “resource agency” was often underestimated.