Dissemination and communication

In this section, we share conference contributions, scientific publications, and other materials related to the MEMA project. The aim is to promote the dissemination of the results obtained and the innovative practices developed during the research activities. The publications will include peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, and educational resources, providing valuable insights for the scientific community and educators interested in integrating mathematical memes into teaching.

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Academic Research: contributions to scientific conferences

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This contribution, presented at the international conference ICEDU 2025 (11th International Conference on Education 2025), showcases the quantitative findings of the MEMA project, with a particular focus on the analysis of variations in Perceived Class Cohesion (PCC) before and after the intervention. The goal of this presentation is to disseminate empirical data collected through a randomized controlled trial conducted in an Italian secondary school, fostering discussion on the relationship between digital culture, classroom cohesion, and mathematics learning. The contribution will illustrate how participation in shared digital practices can influence students’ sense of belonging to their classroom community. The first quantitative results on PCC will be discussed, highlighting the potential of memes not only as tools for mathematical expression but also as mechanisms for strengthening classroom relationships. This presentation is part of a broader discussion on strategies for making mathematics education more inclusive, emphasizing the value of pedagogical approaches that acknowledge and integrate students’ digital cultural capital.

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This contribution, presented at the international conference ICTMT17 (17th International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching), draws on Marshall McLuhan’s insight that the medium is the message. In the context of mathematics education, this means that what matters is not only the content but also the expressive forms that convey it and reshape participation. Using data from the MeMa project, the paper shows how the creation of mathematical memes in three Italian secondary school classes opens new and more inclusive spaces for engagement, giving a voice even to those who usually remain silent. Memes thus become not merely digital tools, but cultural practices that allow students to challenge established norms, share errors and cognitive tensions, and redefine what counts as meaningful participation in mathematical discourse.

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Academic Research: Peer reviewed publications

Understanding students’ opportunities in mathematics education requires tools that capture the social and cultural dimensions shaping their engagement with the subject. One way to conceptualise these opportunities is through the notion of mathematics capital, which encompasses the resources and dispositions that students bring to their mathematical experiences. This study introduces and validates a questionnaire designed to measure secondary students’ mathematics capital, adapting the well-established science capital framework to the mathematical domain. Grounded in Bourdieu’s concept of capital, the questionnaire operationalises mathematics capital across mathematical forms of cultural capital, mathematics-related behaviours and practices, and mathematics-related forms of social capital. The questionnaire was administered to 119 students in an Italian secondary school as part of a broader study on mathematical memes. Statistical analyses, including correlation tests and Cronbach’s alpha, confirm the instrument’s reliability and internal coherence, highlighting the influence of both school and extracurricular environments. The questionnaire provides educators with a practical tool to better understand students’ engagement with mathematics and to inform strategies for fostering equity in mathematics education. By making mathematics capital a measurable construct, this research contributes to discussions on how cultural and social factors shape students’ trajectories in mathematics and beyond.
Link to the complete article

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Schools: Initiatives for teachers’ professional development

The MEMA project is presented to secondary school teachers at the MEDA4 ((Mathematics Education in the Digital Age) conference, organized by the University of Bari. The session focused on the use of innovative tools to enrich students’ learning and mathematical identity within the context of digital culture. During the presentation, the use of mathematical memes was demonstrated with interactive examples, showing how this resource can stimulate student engagement and facilitate the understanding of mathematical concepts through visual and digital languages. Teachers participating in the Liceo Matematico project had the opportunity to explore practical applications for integrating memes into their daily teaching activities.

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The MEMA project is presented to primary and secondary school teachers as part of the event “Mathematics Challenges for the Future 2” organized by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Parma. The focus of the session was on the use of innovative tools to foster learning and mathematical identity within the digital generation. During the presentation, the use of mathematical memes was demonstrated to the teachers through interactive examples, highlighting how this educational resource can stimulate student engagement and promote the understanding of mathematical concepts through visual and digital forms of communication..
A video recording of the presentation is available (in Italian with subtitles)

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The MEMA project is presented to secondary school teachers as part of the course Physical and Digital Tools for Laboratory-Based Mathematics Learning – Renewals, promoted by Liceo Banfi in Vimercate (MB) and included in the Futura. The School for Italy’s Tomorrow programme. The session focuses on exploring innovative tools to support mathematics learning and to strengthen the mathematical identity of younger generations. Within this framework, the MEMA approach was illustrated through interactive examples of mathematical memes, highlighting how such resources can foster active student participation and contribute to the construction of mathematical meaning through visual and digital forms of communication. The event includes a one-hour theoretical session and a two-hour laboratory session.

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In April 2025, the MEMA project is presented to secondary school teachers as part of the 2024/2025 professional development course “The New Frontiers of Digital Technology in Mathematics: What Opportunities for Teachers and Students?” organized by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Salerno in collaboration with the “I Lincei per la Scuola” Foundation. The event includes a one-hour theoretical session and a two-hour laboratory session. The seminar explores how digital media, when used consciously, can facilitate a dialogue between mathematical culture and digital culture, opening new perspectives for teaching mathematics. During the laboratory session, participants have the opportunity to experiment with the use of digital tools in the classroom, integrating these resources effectively into their everyday teaching practice.

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In May 2025, the MEMA project will be presented to secondary school teachers as part of the 2024/2025 training course “Il Respighi di domani, oggi – Technologies and Methodologies for Teaching Mathematics in a Digital Society”, organised by the Liceo Scientifico Lorenzo Respighi in Piacenza. The seminar offers a reflection on the role of social media in recognising and enhancing students’ mathematics capital, understood as the set of cultural, familial, and identity-related resources that shape their relationship with the discipline. Structured in a theoretical session (1.5 hours) and a hands-on workshop (2.5 hours), the event explores how activities based on the creation and discussion of digital content—such as mathematical memes and animated gifs—can support a dialogue between mathematical and digital cultures, making implicit knowledge visible and enabling new forms of student participation. During the workshop, teachers will have the opportunity to experiment with digital tools and teaching strategies that can be adapted to everyday classroom practice.

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The MEMA project is presented to teachers and education enthusiasts through Claudia Bartoli’s website, Didattica Vibrazionale, in an article entitled “Memes and Vibrational Mathematics”. The contribution combines the potential of memes as educational tools with a teaching approach that places students’ well-being, awareness, and focus at its centre, conceived as a bridge between mathematical culture and digital languages. It offers both theoretical insights and practical resources for classroom use.
👉 Read the full article: I Meme e la Matematica Vibrazionale: come l’umorismo potenzia l’apprendimento (in italian)

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In October 2025, the MEMA project is presented to lower and upper secondary school teachers as part of the training programme established by DM 66/2023 – Teacher training for the digital transition, organised by the Salesian Institute San Lorenzo Don Bosco in Novara. The meeting includes a theoretical session (1h) and a workshop session (2h). The first part offers a reflection on the role of digital languages in shaping the mathematical identity of younger generations; in the second part, teachers experiment with activities based on mathematical memes. These activities show how such materials can stimulate students’ participation, foster argumentation, and open new perspectives for the teaching of mathematics in twenty-first-century classrooms.

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Public Engagement: communication to the wider public

The MEMA project is presented to the public thanks to the collaboration with the Leonardo Foundation, a third-sector organization that promotes cultural growth on topics related to science, industry, and technology through outreach, training, and networking activities, with a focus on STEM disciplines and the involvement of schools and universities.
Article and video interview at this link (in Italian)

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The MEMA project was presented to the general public through an article published on La Statale News entitled “Lessons in Memes: How Digital Culture Can Support Teaching” (22 August 2025) and shared across the University’s social media channels. The article shows how memes can become innovative teaching tools in different disciplinary fields: alongside MEMA, it highlights the work of Marina Gazzini on the use of memes in teaching and historical research, Giulia Giorgi’s sociological perspective with a focus on generational cultures, and Pietro Saccomanno’s studies on how memes shape political communication and the opinions of younger generations. Within this interdisciplinary framework, MEMA contributes by exploring how mathematical memes can expand opportunities for interaction and for the construction of shared meanings in education.
👉 Read the full article on La Statale News: Lessons in Memes: How Digital Culture Can Support Teaching (in italian)

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