Research Article
Adeeb M. Jarrah, Kamar Fayez, Hanan Almarashdi, Patricia Fidalgo
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 3, Article No: ep516
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about an unprecedented reliance on digital technologies in education, regardless of the pre-existing attitude of teachers. This study explores elementary school teachers’ perceptions about teaching mathematics through distance education. Using a quantitative approach, an online questionnaire was administered to primary teachers in the UAE during the spring semester of 2020-2021. The results show teachers’ readiness to adopt digital technology in teaching against increased workload. Difficulties emerged in optimizing student performance in online environments. While the institution supports digital integration, teachers prefer traditional in-person classroom instruction. Therefore, the research would inform some educational systems and curriculum planning worldwide on the best way to integrate digital technology within elementary mathematics education. The study aims to close the gap in mathematics education within a digital context to solve the emerging educational demands.
Keywords: distance education, elementary education, information and communication technology, mathematics education, United Arab Emirates
Research Article
Joseph Njiku, Védaste Mutarutinya, Jean François Maniraho
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article No: ep297
ABSTRACT
Developing teachers’ competencies in technology integration has recently been one of the areas of attention in teacher training. This paper presents an investigation of the development of mathematics teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) through collaborative lesson design activities. The study employed a pre and post-test for non-equivalent groups quasi-experiment with three groups. Participants were secondary school mathematics teachers from Dar es Salaam -Tanzania who responded to a TPACK questionnaire before and after the intervention. Group 1 participated in collaborative lesson design teams to integrate technology and implemented the designed lesson in the classroom. Group 2 participated in lesson planning and implementation and group 3 operated conventionally. Using paired sample t-test, although all groups appear to have improved their TPACK significantly, the effect size was large for group 1 and group 2 only. When the comparison between groups and across the two points of time for data collection was done using the split-plot analysis of variance, it was found that group 1 improved the most in TPACK. These finding favoured the use of collaborative lesson designs in school-based teacher design teams. The study recommends that professional development needs to be authentic by involving teachers in routine professional activities, optimizing their peer teams to support each other within the real school contexts.
Keywords: collaborative activities, lesson design, TPACK, mathematics education, professional development
Research Article
Eddie M. Mulenga, José M. Marbán
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 12, Issue 2, Article No: ep269
ABSTRACT
Digital learning has reshaped education in many ways. The purpose of this study is to respond to the question of whether COVID-19 is the gateway for digital-learning in mathematics education. To this end, this study explores some uptakes of social media platforms by prospective secondary school teachers. Data was collected from 102 prospective mathematics teachers from the Copperbelt University (CBU). Cluster analysis approach was used. Results revealed that participants’ scores for digital learning in mathematics in cluster 2 were higher than those in both cluster 1 and 3. This is a clear indication that prospective teachers in clusters with low scores are more likely to exhibit low skill levels in the use of mobile technology and the adoption of social media in relation to mathematics pedagogy during the COVID-19 crisis. Results show different patterns. However, overall results show that digital learning could be a positive response to COVID-19 closure period.
Keywords: COVID-19, digital learning, social media, students, mathematics education, Zambia
Research Article
Kevin Smith
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 9, Issue 2, pp. 111-130
ABSTRACT
Adaptive learning programs are frequently used in the K-8 mathematics classroom. These programs provide instruction to students at the appropriate level of difficulty by presenting content, providing feedback, and allowing students to master skills before progressing. The purpose of the study was to seek to interpret how preservice teachers’ experiences influence their perceptions and plans to integrate adaptive learning programs in their future K-8 mathematics classroom. This was a qualitative study with 17 participants who were enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education program. Data was collected and analyzed from archived journals the participants completed as a part of their K-8 Math Methods course, a survey, and semi-structured interviews. The findings from this study indicate that the participating preservice teachers perceive adaptive learning programs to be beneficial for students, and they recognize they have many decisions to make regarding what adaptive learning programs are used and how they are integrated into the classroom. The study also found that the instruction the preservice teachers received in their K-8 Math Methods course played a critical role in making them aware of the features available and myriad of options available in adaptive learning programs.
Keywords: Preservice teacher education, Mathematics education, Adaptive learning systems, Perceptions for technology
Book Review
Olivia Nichole Ritter
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 99-102
ABSTRACT
This book’s value lies in the succinct provision of evidence that confounds simplistic views of the objectives and potential directions of STEM education. More importantly, this book elicits significant questions about how the proposed alternative conceptions of STEM may materialize. As an educator in a system dominated by high-stakes standardized testing, the authors’ perspectives concerning the importance of the intrinsic value of genuine learning and the aesthetics underlying the subjects of mathematics and science are refreshing and provide hope for potential change.
Keywords: STEM, science education, mathematics education, technology education
Research Article
Barbara Freeman, Kristina N. Higgins, Mark Horney
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 281-313
ABSTRACT
This article reports the findings of a study designed to examine the influence of multimodal
writing on the communication of mathematical ideas. Elementary school students (ages 8-13)
were required to write mathematics notes using two digital writing technologies, a personal
digital notepad and a social mathematics blog, in the context of a formal intervention. Fortytwo
students participated, across three schools. The study showed that when students wrote
notes that could be assessed for correctness, their answers were predominately right,
indicating that mathematical sense-making was taking place. It also showed that the digital
notepad and blog were used differently and that the type of technology influences the writing
content. Moreover, students’ mathematical writing were understandable by their peers and
students collaboratively explored solutions. Younger students were more likely to draw
pictures to represent their ideas than older students. These findings show that writing can
help students acquire mathematical understanding, and suggest that multimodal writing may
help them surmount difficulties often associated with learning math. Although this research
demonstrated that writing can help teachers gain an awareness of their students’
mathematical understanding, it also revealed that writing environments need to be monitored
and students require close guidance to bring about systematic improvement.
Keywords: mathematics education, instructional technology, elemantary education, digital writing tools, blogging
Research Article
Kristina N. Higgins, Lindy Crawford, Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo, Mark Horney
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 1-24
ABSTRACT
Mathematical reasoning involves comprehending mathematical information and concepts in a logical way and forming conclusions and generalizations based on this comprehension. Computer-based learning has been incorporated into classrooms across the country, and specific aspects of technology need to be studied to determine how programs are influencing student reasoning and learning. This article explores how one aspect of computer-based learning, electronic support tools (ESTs), influences students’ mathematical reasoning over the course of an online supplemental mathematics program, the Math Learning Companion (MLC). Students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 (N = 31) from two private schools participated in MLC, and their reasoning was assessed before and after participating in the program. EST use was measured by using frequency counts for each tool. Results describe students’ tool use and reflect an overall change in their reasoning over the course of the intervention, indicating that students use ESTs as needed to individualize the learning program. Students specifically used ESTs as needed to improve their mathematical reasoning, their correctness of response, and their mathematical explanations of their answers over the course of the intervention.
Keywords: Mathematical reasoning, Computer-based instruction, Electronic support tools, Mathematics education
Research Article
Dabae Lee, Yeol Huh
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 286-301
ABSTRACT
Effort to determine teachers’ effects on student has been continuously made with national data. However, paucity of research has been conducted on how teachers’ instructional strategies impact on student learning with national data, although instructional theories suggest a direct relationship between instructional strategies and learning outcomes. Therefore, the relationship between teachers’ use of instructional strategies and learning outcomes should be examined with national data. This study investigates how much teacher’s instructional strategies explain student learning in mathematics and what instructional strategies are positively related to student learning outcomes. Revised Bloom’s taxonomy was used to define instructional strategies that support different levels of cognitive processes. The U.S. 8th grade mathematics data from the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study was analyzed using multilevel modeling. As results, teachers’ instructional strategies explained approximately 12% at the individual level and 17% at the teacher level of the learning outcome. Also, asking student to write equations and functions to represent relationships and to decide on their own procedures for solving complex problems were positively and significantly related to student learning outcomes.
Keywords: Instructional strategies, TIMSS, Mathematics education, Academic achievement, Multilevel modeling