Citation: McDougall, D. & Karadag. Z. (2008). Tracking students’ mathematical thinking online: Frame analysis method. 11 th International Congress on Mathematical Education. Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. 1 Tracking students’ mathematical thinking online: Frame analysis method Douglas McDougall Zekeriya Karadag OISE/University of Toronto OISE/University of Toronto Canada Canada dmcdougall@oise.utoronto.ca zekeriya@bilelim.net Scholars, mathematicians and mathematics educators, define mathematical thinking as a process which contains at least one of the mental and math-related operations including reasoning, abstracting, conjecturing, representing and switching between different representations, visualizing, deducing, inducing, analyzing, synthesizing, connecting, generalizing, and proving (i.e. Carroll, 1996; Harel, A. Seldon, & Seldon, 2006). Schoenfeld (1992) describes mathematical thinking as a process of information performed in working memory by using mathematical tools such as abstraction, symbolic representation, and symbolic manipulation. Given that mathematical thinking is a mental process, attempts to assess this process demands to access to the working memory and monitor the processes performed. In order to able to achieve this goal in face-to-face environments, many methods such as thinking-aloud, video-recording, and interviewing have been implemented. However, accessing students’ mathematical thinking in computer environment is rather challenging. Students use computers for manipulation, communication, multiple representations such as visual and numeric, and interaction with mathematics (Leung, 2006). Assessing these processes and providing feedback to enhance their mathematical thinking is the key element of mathematics learning. NCTM (2000) suggests that “To ensure deep, high-quality learning for all students, assessment and instruction must be integrated so that assessment becomes a routine part of the ongoing classroom activity rather than an interruption.” (p. 23) In this paper, we aim to contribute to the studies in assessment of technology use in mathematics education. To ensure this contribution, we propose a method to track students’ problem-solving processes and to interpret their mathematical thinking associated with these processes. Thus, the main features of our method are (1) to record students’ problem-solving processes in computer environments, whether online or offline, without distracting them and (2) to analyze these recordings as close as possible in order to access to their thinking processes. Before describing our study and methodology, we briefly review the literature related to the level of technology use in current mathematics education, the relation between technology and assessment, contemporary trends in assessment strategies, and recent studies to access to students’ cognitive processes while they are solving their problems in computer environments. In this study, we propose a new analysis method, called “frame analysis method”, to monitor and track students’ problems solving and learning processes without distracting students while they are working on their tasks. The method is basically based on recording students’ work in computer environment by using a screen-casting software and monitoring what they have done and how they have done. Our preliminary results provide evidence for assuming a detailed interpretation of their solution processes along with their final solutions could help us to access their cognitive processes.