Tablet Usage in Secondary Mathematics Education and Recommendations for Improving Its Effectiveness in the Classroom

As part of my honor\u27s thesis project at Assumption College, I have been researching the ways that teachers are currently using tablets in their secondary mathematics classrooms. My thesis compares the benefits and drawbacks of having tablets in classrooms, tablets for every student, or no tablets at all. In the spring, I collected survey feedback from mathematics teachers in four different local school districts. I analyzed the data in order to determine the ways tablets are being used in classrooms, the reasons preventing teachers from fully integrating tablets into their instruction, the impacts training has had on tablet use, and what can be changed in order to make teachers more comfortable with integrating tablet technology. Teachers\u27 main problems were lack of resources, lack of preparation time, and lack of training. This thesis provides evidence that enforces the idea that with proper training, the other obstacles that keep teachers from integrating tablets dissipate and allow for teachers to effectively use tablets as a supplemental tool that increases adaptability, efficiency and engagement and enhance learning in the classroom as a whole

Investigating Spirituality Through Elementary Art Lessons: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the inclusion of spirituality in a five-week art unit. Spirituality was defined as the interconnectedness with nature and all living things, with human beings and with a higher power. This study was conducted within two Central Illinois public schools, working specifically with third and fourth grade students. Eleven students participated in the study by completing the unit, sharing their sketches/artwork, and participating in an audio-recorded interview conducted by the teacher/researcher. Daily teacher observations/reflections were also used as data. The spirituality unit consisted of students exploring the subject of light in the framework of the three-part definition. The unit began with creating the sense of awe by students walking into a darkened candle lit classroom, covering works or artists and images from the different categories, creating sketches, and making Styrofoam plate prints. Interviews were held once the unit was completed. In conclusion, this thesis determined that the teacher must find a definition for spirituality that is acceptable for the public school setting, create lessons that include spirituality by finding a broad subject matter to generate a variety of spiritual related outcomes, and acknowledge the influence of the teacher’s predisposition toward spirituality as a factor in the success of teaching a spiritually-infused lesson. The thesis also determined that students will respond to a spiritually oriented lesson with a sense of awe and draw upon their personal experiences, cross-curricular knowledge, and the three-part definition of spirituality in their artwork and responses. When creating artwork, students represented images that showed interconnectedness to human beings and nature/living things, as opposed to interconnectedness to a higher power while in conversation, eleven percent of the students’ responses mentioned a connectedness to a higher power. This thesis aims to offer art educators useful tips on including spirituality in their art lessons and provide some ideas on how to create a more holistic approach to elementary art education

Adopting Active Learning Classroom (ALC) Technology and Overcoming Barriers: A Faculty Development Intervention Model for Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces

The goal of this study was to understand how instructors use technology, and what challenges they face, but also to increase the participants’ understanding of Active Learning Classroom (ALCs) technologies as it applies to their teaching by applying action research methodologies. This study also seeks to lay a foundation for additional research on ALCs, education technology, and the needs of instructors in terms of faculty development in technology. This study investigates a group of 13 faculty members in multiple disciplines teaching in ALCs. Thus far, research on the impact of technology-enriched learning environments like Active Learning Classrooms has typically centered around student learning (Beichner et al., 2007; Frazee, Hughes, & Frazee, 2014; Morrone, Ouimet, Siering, & Arthur, 2014). Less attention has been paid to the faculty development needed for instructors to properly take advantage of these environments The research study addresses three questions: First, how and, for what purposes, do faculty use technology in the ALC? Second, what technology adoption factors and barriers were experienced by instructors in an Active Learning Classroom? Third, using Kolb’s experiential learning theory (1984, 2014), how does a semester-long faculty development intervention program impact instructors’ adoption of Active Learning Classroom technologies? Results indicated that the most frequently used technologies were those that were familiar from traditional (technology-equipped) lecture spaces that faculty had used. Faculty were most comfortable with content delivery tools such as instructor laptops connected to the LCD TVs, the instructor podium, and whiteboards. Additionally, technology adoption factors and barriers to adoption were identified, including time, ease of use, equipment availability, institutional classroom support, peer support, and instructor comfort levels with technology and troubleshooting. Through action research, the newest Active Learning Classroom instructors received the most hands-on training on the classroom hardware during consultations, and the exposure to classroom technologies and troubleshooting tips via an experiential learning framework allowed them to better understand the podium interface, document camera and wall-buttons while having an opportunity to reflect on their teaching

An exploration of teaching and learning activities in mathematics flipped classrooms : A case study in an engineering program

Paper I is not available as a part of the dissertation due to the copyright. Author´s accepted manuscript of the paper is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2655384.This research project is a case-study of three consecutive cohorts of engineering students being subject to the pedagogical approach of flipped classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012). The study, which is qualitative and based on a naturalistic research paradigm (Moschkovich & Brenner, 2000), considers various aspects of mathematical learning when students are subject to this new form of learner-centred teaching (Stephan, 2014). Research on Flipped Classroom (FC) has increased substantially during the last decade. However, the bulk of studies consider mostly student satisfaction and performance comparisons between traditional lecture-based and FC teaching. As such, they provide little insight into the fundamental aspects of what makes the FC in tertiary mathematics education efficient or not. As such, there is a definite lack of research that provides qualitative socio-cultural studies of FC teaching and learning. The aim of the study was to address these shortcomings in the research field.publishedVersio

Google Glass App for Displaying ASL Videos for Deaf Children – The Preliminary Race

Glass Vision 3D is a grant-funded project focused on the goal of developing and researching the feasibility & usability of a Google Glass app that will allow young Deaf children to look at an object in the classroom and see an augmented reality projection that displays an American Sign Language (ASL) related video. Session will show the system (Glass app) that was developed and summarize feedback gathered during focus-group testing of the prototype

Google Glass App for Displaying ASL Videos for Deaf Children – The Preliminary Race

Glass Vision 3D is a grant-funded project focused on the goal of developing and researching the feasibility & usability of a Google Glass app that will allow young Deaf children to look at an object in the classroom and see an augmented reality projection that displays an American Sign Language (ASL) related video. Session will show the system (Glass app) that was developed and summarize feedback gathered during focus-group testing of the prototype

Effective Middle School Teachers : Becoming Real

Problem. This study looks at four effective middle school teachers\u27 stories in order to understand the experiences and beliefs which impact their choice to use developmentally responsive classroom practices. There is general agreement in the literature concerning characteristics of effective middle school teachers, but little has been done to understand what influences these teachers to teach the way they do. Method. A qualitative case study design was used for this study. Two male and two female middle school teachers were observed and interviewed during the course of 1 school year. Each teacher\u27s life experiences, classroom practices, and beliefs are described in narrative form. An analysis of the four teachers\u27 practices and beliefs was conducted using the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development\u27s Turning Points (1989) and the National Middle School Association\u27s This We Believe (1995). Further analysis of similarities and differences in the teachers\u27 lives led to the emergence of other themes. Results. The four teachers\u27 classroom practices and beliefs matched the descriptions of developmentally appropriate practices in Turning Points and This We Believe. Further analysis of similarities and differences in the teachers\u27 lives led to the emergence of other themes. Conclusions. The concept of Real as portrayed in The Velveteen Rabbit describes the lives of the four middle school teachers who participated in this study. These teachers love and give of themselves freely to others. They have experienced growing pains, but choose to look beyond the discomfort and allow it to mold and shape their lives. Though they are Real and recognize the contributions they are making to others, they continue to open themselves up to continued growth

An exploration of integrating the computer into the artroom : curriculum development and teacher training.

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the integration of the computer into the art classroom with specific intent to provide teacher training and to determine the need for standards in curriculum development. The following questions will be addressed: What (if any) direction should be followed to implement a systematic curriculum methodology for computer graphics? What are we currently doing to meet this need? How are we training our art educators to integrate the computer for art and design, and what do these teachers need in the way of background? What considerations become relevant to the classroom art teacher in the logistical procedures of setting up labs or utilizing pre-existing labs in a school district? The conclusions of this study were based on results from both qualitative and quantitative investigations. The quantitative results were obtained by sending out close-ended questionnaires for self-completion, by mail. The sample included 276 public school districts. The demographic results reviewed include statistical data which is displayed in chart and graphed formats. The qualitative results were obtained by creating and then implementing a teacher training tutorial program for 10 teachers in respective school districts. The results of pre- and post-assessment questionnaires were evaluated regarding each teacher\u27s documented variances in attitudes, performances, acquired skills, knowledge, and opinions. While carrying out part two of the study, I intended to promote literacy, awareness, and understanding to the participating art teachers on the potential usage of the computer for art in the art classroom. If teachers have a stronger foundation and confidence in this area, they will more effectively integrate this tool into the art curriculum. Such grounding will hopefully give students in art the opportunity to use computers more efficiently and, it will create an awareness of the inherent possibilities this tool offers at an early stage