Type of Proposal
Visual Presentation (Poster, Installation, Demonstration)
Faculty
Faculty of Education
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Dragana Martinovic
Start Date
24-3-2015 1:00 PM
End Date
24-3-2015 1:50 PM
Importance of the Project
This research project was conducted in an attempt to address some concerns regarding use,misuse, or disuse of digital technologies in the classroom. For all stakeholders: students, parents,and school administrators, it is very important to know to what extent teachers utilize technology in their lesson plans, or what may be the reasons for them not to fully integrate technology in their lessons. Understandably, it can be frustrating to have a group of students anxiously awaiting a PowerPoint presentation to begin, while the system is down or the connection speed is slow that day. Even if you have the skills and training necessary for your tech lesson, something else might happen that is beyond your control. Teachers need to have a plan “B” because the last thing theywant is to waste limited teaching time. When many things can go wrong, are the teachers willing to take a risk? This research is important because of the dearth of studies done regarding this issue and the need for evidence-based recommendations for enhanced use of digital technologies in schools.
Existing State of Knowledge
Running Head:Today’s Technology in Mathematics Classroom1Today’s Technology in Mathematics Classroom Importance of the project. This research project was conducted in an attempt to address some concerns regarding use,misuse, or disuse of digital technologies in the classroom. For all stakeholders: students, parents,and school administrators, it is very important to know to what extent teachers utilize technology in their lesson plans, or what may be the reasons for them not to fully integrate technology in their lessons. Understandably, it can be frustrating to have a group of students anxiously awaiting a PowerPoint presentation to begin, while the system is down or the connection speed is slow that day. Even if you have the skills and training necessary for your tech lesson, something else might happen that is beyond your control. Teachers need to have a plan “B” because the last thing they want is to waste limited teaching time. When many things can go wrong, are the teachers willing to take a risk? This research is important because of the dearth of studies done regarding this issue and the need for evidence-based recommendations for enhanced use of digital technologies in schools.Existing state of knowledge. In the 21stcentury education, technology has become part of the curriculum. However, its integration into the classroom learning experience is often difficult due to the following reasons:Many teachers lack the necessary technological skills, and some teachers view technology as an additional burden to their workload. In other words, teachers feel that in order to integratete chnology into their lessons, they must receive training and be given time to process and assimilate the technological activities beforehand (Purcell, Heaps, Buchanan, & Friedrich, 2013).The time is needed in order to learn how to navigate and use these tools, as well as to understand the terminology of the used software and instruments. Once successfully achieved, these skills would allow teachers to engage their students in the learning process, incorporating the teaching styles that accommodate for the multiple intelligences of the learners.In a survey of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project, teachers’ answers revealed that digital tools are widely used in their classrooms and professional lives (Purcell et al.,2013). However, many of these high school and middle school teachers worried about digitaldivide when it comes to their students’ access to technology. For example, according to Purcell etal., those who teach low-income students may face obstacles in bringing technology into their teaching.The problems around integration of technology provided incentives for the explicit preparation of student teachers, so that they become equipped with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK; Niess, 2005).
Research Question
The main question that we wanted to address in this research is: “Are teachers using technology in their mathematics lesson plans?”This question will be answered by investigating the following three sub-questions:1.How do teachers incorporate technology into their lesson plans? 2.Based on the grade level they teach, which technology teachers use, if any? 3. Is there evidence that teachers are using openly available Internet resources in their lessons?
Methodology
The research questions were answered by inspecting the websites that contain teachers’ lesson plans and teaching methods in the classroom (e.g., teachers.net), and by reading recent research findings (see Purcell et al , 2013). First step was to collect a sample of different lesson plans for different grade levels. Lesson plans which integrated technology were counted and turned into a percentage. These results were compared to the information obtained from the research studies and respectable online resources.
Your Findings
By analyzing teacher lesson plans for K-12 grades posted on the Internet and viewing 50lesson plans, I found that teachers used the Internet to find a movie clip, used technology to print some worksheets, used MS Office, or the calculators (graphics, scientific, or basic). Teachers’ use of the technology was minimal. (Download PDF for full details).
Today’s Technology in Mathematics Classroom