Running Head: Technology in the Classroom 1

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom

Education 378: Methods of Teaching Mathematics

Allison Kocovic

Manhattan College
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Abstract

This paper will talk about the use of technology in a high school mathematics classroom.

It will include the benefits of using technology in the classroom but also how it might be

distracting to students. I will talk about my fieldwork experience while at Bronx High School of

Science in Bronx, New York. Bronx High School of Science is one of the three specialized high

schools in the five boroughs of New York. Most of the research shows that technology is a great

way to engage students in the material being taught, and a better way for students to gain

information is if they are enjoying it.

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Technology in the Mathematics Classroom

Mathematics is always the most difficult subject amongst high school students, and a

common problem that arises is students questioning their ability to do mathematics. Throughout

my personal experience in high school, my fellow classmates have always complained about

why they had to learn certain topics in math because they were never going to use these concepts

in real life and the content was usually difficult and uninteresting. Students tend to have a fear of

mathematics and question their own abilities to achieve in mathematics. While students find

mathematics hard, I believe it is also difficult for teachers to educate their students when students

are stuck on the idea that they are incapable of doing mathematics and have an animosity

towards trying to learn in their mathematics classes. Taking the course Education 360: Language

and Literacy here at Manhattan College has made me more aware of English Language Learners

(ELLs) in classrooms and how students must learn the content of their current course and

develop literacy skills simultaneously.

Mathematics can be seen as its own language which is different from the language

normally acquired from students because it is so abstract and conceptual compared to other

subjects taught in school (Aflahah, 2018). This is why most students are not interested and not

engaged in their mathematics class. It is important for teachers and students to include literacy in

mathematics because it helps students become more developed in the mathematics content and

language literacy. One way to engage students in the classroom is the use of technology. One

way of engaging students is the use of iPads and/or tablets in the classroom. There are also

different programs that could be used in the classroom to engage students, such as Plickers,

Kahoot, Sum Dog, GeoGebra, MatLab, and many more.

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Mathematics is the most important subject in school, and it is easily assessed worldwide

since it is considered its own language because of its use of expressions, verbs, and sentences

that are represented in symbolic notation (Aflahah, 2018). Learning mathematics can be a

struggle for some students and the methods that teachers use in the classroom has a substantial

impression on the level of understanding from the student (Murphy, 2015). Teachers must realize

that each student may have different needs when it comes to understanding the content. There are

different methods, strategies, curricula, and professional training that teachers might need attend

to help meet the need in the pedagogy of students in mathematics (Murphy, 2015).

Research shows that the use of technology in a high school mathematics classroom

increases student improvement in the content area, and also improves the teacher’s deliverance

of the content. Daniel Murphy’s review of research included the experiment of using iPad’s in a

high school geometry class. Out of two teachers and 110 students, 57 students had the

opportunity to use an iPad in one class, while the remaining 53 in the other class did not have

iPads. Both groups were taught the same information but the way the material was presented was

different. The students who used the iPad in class were more engaged in the lesson than the

students without the iPad (Murphy, 2015). The goal was to have more students engaged in the

learning which would ultimately increase their test scores along the road. Even though using

iPads has many benefits in the classroom for engaging students, it can also cause a great deal of

distractions and have students wondering off topic. As long as iPad usage is monitored and

teachers make sure students stay on task, iPads are a useful tool in a high school mathematics

classroom.

Another great way to increase student engagement is game based learning in the

classroom. This could be done by using Plickers, Kahoot, Sum Dog, and others. Plickers, short
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for paper clicker, is a free student response system (SRS) that uses quick response codes printed

on paper for use as a paper clicker (Kent, 2018). Students receive a piece of paper with a code

printed on it, and when holding it a certain way, it gives you either answer choices a, b, c, or d.

When students hold up their quick response card, the teacher then scans the room, using the

Plickers application, with a cell phone or iPad using the camera, and the teacher can easily get

results how the number of students who picked the answer choices a, b, c, or d. Plickers not only

engages students to participate in class, but it is a favorable formative assessment used by

teachers because they receive feedback right away on the material that was just delivered (Kent,

2018). The Plickers application is flexible to all teaching pedagogies, and is extremely easy to

use in this world of advanced technology. Kahoot is another game based learning strategy that is

used in classrooms. With Kahoot, students sign in with a username so, unlike Plickers, teachers

could see what students are getting the correct answers and which students are falling behind.

Using these types of games in a classroom can also be used to teach skills, judgment, behaviors,

theories, reasoning, process, procedures, creativity, language, systems, observation, and

communication using various approaches (Wang, A. & Lieberoth, A., 2016). Sum dog is also a

game based learning tool and is similar to Plickers and Kahoot.

Most statistics on English Language Learners (ELLs) show low achievement scores in

mathematics and science, and often many drop out of high school due to difficulty in the content

area. Also, one out of every ten students in the United States is an ELL student (Roberts, S.A.,

2009). ELLs have a disadvantage in literacy and should receive help in developing mathematical

literacy and discourse. Incorporating technology in ELL instruction would be very valuable for

students because having more supports available to them would make it less frustrating for them.
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It is also something that students have available to them both in the classroom and at home

(Roberts, S.A., 2009).

While doing observation hours at Bronx High School of Science, I noticed the majority of

teachers’ pedagogies were inquiry based learning. In inquiry learning, students are doing all of

the talking and learning while the teacher makes sure the students are on the right path. There is

very little direct instruction and a large amount of discussions between students. I observed a

freshman Honors Geometry class where the teacher would lecture for about five to ten minutes

in the beginning of class and then break up into student discussion for about two minutes and

then have a class discussion. This was how the class was set up for most days, but to engage

students the teacher used Plickers. For example, he would put a “Do Now” on the board with

four answer choices, and after students figured out the problem they would hold up their answer

choices and the teacher would scan their cards. The students seemed to really enjoyed this

because they got to view the results of the whole class. They got to observe what other

classmates were thinking, which lead into a discussion of which is the correct answer. I believe

the teacher should have incorporated Plickers into more classes and lessons because students

enjoyed it and motivated them to get the correct answer. Another way the teacher incorporated

technology in his class was with the use of Schoology. Schoology is a social networking site

where teachers can connect with their students by posting homework assignments, class

worksheets, review sheets, and answer keys to all the assignments. This is a great way to connect

with students, especially if a student is missing an assignment, or forgot to copy down the

homework, for example.

Technology in the classroom is beneficial to all students because it engages them and it is

important for them to understand concepts in mathematics. Using technology can be seen as a
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teaching pedagogy and I will definitely include this in my future classroom. Not all schools

might be able to afford iPads or tablets in the classroom, but game based learning is a great

strategy to incorporate technology and engage students in class.

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References:

Aflahah, S. (2018). Why are language and literacy important in understanding

mathematics? Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 26(3), 58–63.
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-554040666/why-are-language-and-literacy-
important-in-understanding

Freeman, B. (2012). Using digital technologies to redress inequities for English language
learners in the English- Speaking mathematics classroom. Computers & Education, 59(1), 50-62.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barbara_Freeman2/publication/257171155_Using_digital_t
echnologies_to_redress_inequities_for_English_language_learners_in_the_English_speaking_m
athematics_classroom/links/56e2d12608ae387a2483a09f.pdf

Kent, D. (2018, November 30). "Plickers" and the Pedagogical Practicality of Fast
Formative Assessment. Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=using+Plickers+in+mathematics+classroom&id=EJ1224605.

Murphy, D. (2015, November 30). A Literature Review: The Effect of Implementing

Technology in a High School Mathematics Classroom. Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1105104.

Roberts, S. A. (2009). Supporting English Language Learners' Development of

Mathematical Literacy. Democracy & Education, 18(3), 29-36.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ856295

Wang, A. & Lieberoth, A. (2016). The effect of points and audio on concentration,
engagement, enjoyment, learning, motivation, and classroom dynamics using Kahoot!
file:///Users/Ally/Downloads/ECGBL2016-Effect_of_points_and_audio_in_Kahoot%20(2).pdf