Faculty of Education - Theses

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Subject: Study and teaching (Secondary) × Subject: Mathematics × Type: Masters Research thesis × Author: Katz, Lionel ×

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    The use of laptop computers in the year 10 mathematics classroom
    Katz, Lionel ( 2002)
    Laptop computers have been used in mathematics classrooms for approximately 10 years and there has not been a comprehensive study into how laptop computers are used, teachers' attitudes towards laptop computer use, and perceived student benefits. This study focuses on: i) How laptop computers are used in the mathematics classroom, concentrating on the types of software used and the type and the activities conducted. ii) Teachers' attitudes towards the use of laptop computers in the mathematics classroom, in particular how their attitudes and experiences may effect the use of laptop computers. iii) Teachers' perceptions of student benefits in terms of understanding and performing mathematical tasks using laptop computers. This study shows that there is a wide variety of software used and a large number of activities completed in mathematics classrooms with laptop computers. Teachers favoured using spreadsheets above any other type of software and tended to use the laptop computers for computational, open-ended activities rather than conceptual tasks. Teachers had varying attitudes about how and when laptop computers should be used in the mathematics classroom. There appeared to be connections between a teacher's own use of the computer and the way the teacher used the laptop computer in the classroom. Some teachers used the laptop computer very frequently whilst others used them sparingly. The most valuable type of in-service about using computers came from the teacher's own faculty, through formal and informal discussions. Finally, not all teachers believed there were benefits for their students from using laptop computers. There was no conclusive evidence about whether teachers believed their students had an increased ability to understand mathematics due to using laptop computers, but, there was evidence of increased student motivation.