Secondary Teachers Use of Web 2.0 Technology to Instruct English Learners in Mathematics: A Qualitative Case Study

With the increasing population of immigrants in our society, there is also a corresponding increase in the number of English Learners (EL) in the school system. With their low performance on standardized tests and high drop rate in high schools, an urgent need to focus on productive and effective instructional ways to connect the technology and pedagogical practices to enhance ELs’ progression in math is needed. Web 2.0 tools are a perfect example of how to connect technology and pedagogical practices in the classrooms to help ELs get motivated to engage and participate in mathematics classrooms. Web 2.0 technology is an online platform that offers a variety of applications to make sharing and collaboration in the classroom possible. Anyone can create and share information using Web 2.0 technology and with the internet, it can be accessed anywhere and at any time. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore secondary mathematics teachers and their use of Web 2.0 tools when instructing ELs. The data-collection was done through interviewing secondary mathematics teachers who have at least three ELs in their classroom. The results of the findings showed that most of the teacher participants indicated that they have little experience of how to use Web 2.0. The results also indicated that Web 2.0 tools technology was missing from teachers’ lesson plans and not being used to help meet the instructional needs of ELs in mathematics classrooms. The study recommended the necessity of intensifying and enhancing training for teachers on the use of Web 2.0 tools when instructing EL students

Using Manipulatives to Investigate ESOL Students\u27 Achievement and Dispositions in Algebra

The purpose of this embedded quasi-experimental mixed methods research was to investigate the effectiveness of concrete and virtual manipulatives on the achievement of English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) as they employ them to explore linear and exponential functions in high school Sheltered Common Core Coordinate Algebra. Also of interest were the effects concrete and virtual manipulatives have on their disposition towards mathematics and math class. Another goal was to investigate the benefits and disadvantages of using concrete and virtual manipulatives versus traditional instructional practices. This was a 5-week study. The control group (N=20) was instructed through the use of mathematics textbooks and Power Points (traditional) and compared to the treatment group (N=19), which was instructed using concrete and virtual manipulatives. One ESOL mathematics teacher implemented this study, teaching both groups by utilizing the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) (2012) model to integrate content and language. Qualitative research methods, teacher interviews, recorded field notes, students’ work samples and artifacts were utilized. Quantitative data analysis techniques were used to analyze departmentalized Linear and Exponential Functions Summative Assessments (pretest and posttest) to measure mathematics achievement. The one-way ANOVA uncovered no statistically significant difference between the control group and treatment group as they explored linear and exponential functions. The Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning Students Disposition instrument (pre-questionnaire and post- questionnaire) measured dispositions about mathematics and math class. The one-way ANOVA indicated no statistically significant difference between the control and the treatment group’s dispositions about mathematics and math class

Implementing Student-Centered Accommodations in Mathematics

This project explores the necessary need to create and implement accommodations for low achieving learners and high achieving learners in mathematics, specifically addition and subtraction at the kindergarten level. Currently, there are no accommodations provided in the mathematic curriculum to support these groups of students and ensure they continue to succeed and grow. Research data was collected and analyzed to determine the types of accommodations that are most beneficial to these two groups of learners. Through the research findings, accommodations were discovered and included in the final project to create a student-centered learning environment called the Rainforest Math Cove. The student-centered learning environment encourages students to become responsible and independent of their own learning while instilling pride in conquering their own misunderstandings when solving the problems. This project contains all of the necessary components that an educator would need in order to implement the student-centered learning environment. It is recommended that upon implementation of the Rainforest Math Cove, the educator or an observer monitor the effects this student-centered learning environment has on student achievement

An Analysis of Secondary Mathematics Teacher Learning in the Midwest Master Teacher Partnership

This case study investigates the professional learning and changes in teaching practices and leadership of four experienced, mid-career secondary mathematics teachers as a result of participation in the Midwest Master Teacher Partnership, a professional development partnership between a research university and a large, urban school district. The design of the professional development was based primarily on teacher action research; it placed the teacher at the center of the learning experiences, and included considerations of teachers’ existing knowledge, contexts, community, and assessment.The primary research question is, “How have teachers’ practices changed through their participation in a practice-based professional development project?” To answer this question, this study considers three aspects of teacher learning and practice: (1) The trajectories of teachers’ changes in practice and the way the nature of their participation in MMTP impacted their pedagogical practice; (2) The evolution of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and beliefs about teaching mathematics over the course of MMTP; and (3) The pathways that teachers took in their professional learning with MMTP, the factors that shaped their movement on the pathways, and ways that the nature of their participation in MMTP impacted teachers’ attitudes toward professional development and their thoughts about future engagement in professional learning. A qualitative analysis was performed on written, video recorded, and audio recorded artifacts collected over the duration of the Midwest Master Teacher Partnership and the teachers’ work was examined for changes in knowledge, beliefs, and teaching practices over time. The findings provide evidence that the four teachers each experienced individual changes in practice: changing notions of student success, building trust in students to take ownership over their learning, building a community of learners, and changing beliefs about students and how they learn. In addition, the four teachers each experienced individual changes leadership: establishing credibility, sharing knowledge with the larger community, gaining confidence as an expert, and shared leadership and collective vision. This case study demonstrates that consideration of experienced teachers needs when planning and implementing practice-based professional development and using teacher action research to drive teacher learning can promote productive changes in teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching, teaching practices, and beliefs about teaching and learning

Characterization of Highly Active Teacher Learners’ Participation and TPACK Knowledge While Engaging in a Teaching Mathematics with Technology MOOC for Mathematics Educators

As the demand for integrating educational technologies within the mathematics teaching curriculum increases, there is a growing need for teachers to develop the competencies and skills required for effective technology integration into their teaching practices. Massive Open Online Courses for Educators (MOOC-Eds) offer teachers opportunities for professional development. Consequently, it is worthwhile to explore the impact of active participation in these professional learning courses. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the distinct types of knowledge teachers gained from active participation in the Teaching Mathematics with Technology (TMT) MOOC-Ed using discussion forums as a space to assess teacher learning. A concurrent embedded mixed methods design (QUAN + QUAL) was employed for this study. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed separately then data was mixed for joint analysis. Two theoretical frameworks were employed to frame this study and support data collection, analysis, and interpreting results. The Productive Online Discussion Model served as an a priori coding frame employed to analyze the dispositions and learner actions of the discussion forum contributions of active teacher learners. A pre- and post- TPACK survey measuring technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was administered to evaluate active teacher learners change in knowledge before and after the MOOC-Ed experience. Qualitative results from the study indicated that overall, discussions to comprehend occurred most frequently in the discussion forums. Results also showed the frequency of forum contributions categorized as discussing to critique, construct knowledge, and share improved understanding increased during the MOOC-Ed while discussions to comprehend decreased. Quantitative results showed statistically significant growth with large effect size from pre- to post- survey in the TPACK domain for active and highly active teacher learners. Teachers reported the greatest effect on their professional learning experience was increased knowledge of combining pedagogical techniques with technological tools and their content knowledge to teach student-centered lessons. Integrated results indicated that there was a meaningful relationship between highly active teacher learners TPACK growth and their distinct forum contributions that sought to critique, construct knowledge, and share improved understanding. Implications for research emphasize the importance of understanding the different contexts in which teachers teach and designing online courses to meet their diverse learning needs using research-based principles. Additionally, teachers of online learning should consider implementing authentic tasks that contain relevant content, discussion forum questioning that elicits higher order thinking, and opportunities for reflection. Future research is suggested in the areas of employing language technologies (i.e., text mining tools) to explore online interactions and gain insight into user satisfaction and increasing learner engagement and examining to impact of duration of how duration affects participation and attrition rates in professional learning courses

Designing personalised, authentic and collaborative learning with mobile devices: Confronting the challenges of remote teaching during a pandemic.

This article offers teachers a digital pedagogical framework, research-inspired and underpinned by socio-cultural theory, to guide the design of personalised, authentic and collaborative learning scenarios for students using mobile devices in remote learning settings during this pandemic. It provides a series of freely available online resources underpinned by our framework, including a mobile learning toolkit, a professional learning app, and robust, validated surveys for evaluating tasks. Finally, it presents a set of evidence-based principles for effective innovative teaching with mobile devices

Research-Informed Teaching in a Global Pandemic: "Opening up" Schools to Research

The teacher-research agenda has become a significant consideration for policy and professional development in a number of countries. Encouraging research-based teacher education programmes remains an important goal, where teachers are able to effectively utilize educational research as part of their work in school settings and to reflect on and enhance their professional development. In the last decade, teacher research has grown in importance across the three i’s of the teacher learning continuum: initial, induction and in-service teacher education. This has been brought into even starker relief with the global spread of COVID-19, and the enforced and emergency, wholesale move to digital education. Now, perhaps more than ever, teachers need the perspective and support of research-led practice, particularly in how to effectively use Internet technologies to mediate and enhance learning, teaching and assessment online, and new blended modalities for education that must be physically distant. The aim of this paper is to present a number of professional development open educational systems which exist or are currently being developed to support teachers internationally, to engage with, use and do research. Exemplification of the opening up of research to schools and teachers is provided in the chapter through reference to the European Union-funded Erasmus + project, BRIST: Building Research Infrastructures for School Teachers. BRIST is developing technology to coordinate and support teacher-research at a European level

Bringing Nordic mathematics education into the future : Preceedings of Norma 20 : The ninth Nordic conference on mathematics education Oslo, 2021

This volume presents Nordic mathematics education research, which will be presented at the Ninth Nordic Conference on Mathematics Education, NORMA 20, in Oslo, Norway, in June 2021. The theme of NORMA 20 regards what it takes or means to bring Nordic mathematics education into the future, highlighting that mathematics education is continuous and represents stability just as much as change.publishedVersio

Bringing Nordic mathematics education into the future : Preceedings of Norma 20 : The ninth Nordic conference on mathematics education Oslo, 2021

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Strengthening Oral Language Skills in Mathematics for English Language Learners Through Desmos® Technology

A major focus of teaching English Language Learners (ELL) in mathematics classrooms is to provide multiple opportunities for students to use authentic language. Barrier games offer ELLs a balance between productive (speaking, writing) and receptive (listening, reading) language. In a barrier game, students work in pairs to complete an information gap activity where learners are missing the information they need to complete a task and need to talk to each other to find it. With Desmos®�€™ Polygraph program, students are provided online tools for transforming informal language into formal language similar to a Barrier Game. Following a background of barrier games in mathematics, this article will provide a detailed description of Polygraph and its potential for all students to learn and apply authentic mathematical language