Digital Learning Environments to Support Autonomous Learning Processes of Mathematically Creative and Gifted Students

Analyses performed by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs indicate that the educational system must address lifelong education in a context of digitalization, which is a major challenge of the transforming world of work and societal belonging. Mathematically gifted pupils or students are often characterized as independent, non-conformist and autonomous thinkers who are also displaying considerable levels of creativity. When focusing the mathematical content, gifted pupils enjoy working with challenging problems that offer diversified solutions and are explorative about a specific mathematical area. Accordingly, it is indicated that traditional classroom settings do have limited potential to address the needs of the gifted. Hence, the present paper discusses the possibilities to meet the developmental needs of mathematically gifted pupils via digital online learning environments, example here in the form of Digital Interactive Mathematical Maps (DIMM), a freely accessible digital tool developed at the University of Passau, Germany. The DIMM is based on a visualization of the historical development of different mathematical areas, such as geometry, algebra and calculus. Last and importantly, the DIMM is deepened by tasks from mathematical competitions and fostering settings that are connected to mentioned timelines and that pupils can work with in respective contexts.