Teachers' reported digital tool use within an inquiry-based, problem-centered middle school mathematics curriculum
Mathematics teachers use various types of digital tools, including common mathematics-specific digital tools and general-purpose digital tools, in ways to support their instruction, student learning, and curricular goals. This study examined teachers' reported use of digital tools within units of an inquiry-based, problem centered curriculum to determine: (1) what digital tools teachers report using within problems in a unit and the manner of the use and (2) how those digital tools were used within problems and across problems in a unit. Inquiry-based, problem centered curricula provide opportunities to examine teachers' inclusion of digital tools within the mathematics classroom around a specific, common instructional method.Eight middle school teachers were selected based on self-reported moderate to high level of digital tool use and using the desired curriculum series. Each teacher described their use of digital tools on researcher selected problems during a single interview lasting approximately 1.5 hours. Digital tools were primarily used to: (1) support understanding the problem context through videos, (2) carry out straight-forward mathematical tasks through calculators and shared Google applications, (3) facilitate whole-classroom interactions through document cameras, other digital display devices, and shared Google applications, and (4) support summative use for recall, feedback, and artifact creation through video creation, written feedback applications, and shared Google applications. The four uses were strongly rooted in teachers' reported goals for the Launch-Explore-Summarize-Reflect instructional model and desired classroom-interaction characteristics. No notable differences in the use of digital tools were observed across problems at the investigation or unit level. The analysis suggests that teachers use digital tools to strengthen classroom-interaction of the instructional model. This work provides guidance for future consideration of the creation and inclusion of digital tools within inquiry-based, problem-centered mathematics curricula by outlining the types of digital tool uses and their purpose that are reported on through the various phases of individual problems.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Lawrence, Kevin Alan
- Thesis Advisors
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Keller, Brin
- Committee Members
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Edson, Alden
Putnam, Ralph
Crespo, Sandra
- Date
- 2019
- Program of Study
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Mathematics Education - Doctor of Philosophy
- Degree Level
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Doctoral
- Language
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English
- Pages
- xiv, 156 pages
- ISBN
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9781088388518
1088388515
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/2774-8789