The Contribution of Technology to the Implementation of Mathematics Education Reform: Case Studies of Grade 1–3 Teaching

Abstract

Previous research suggests that access to technology contributes to the implementation of mathematics education reform. This case study of three primary (grade 1–3) teachers investigated how access to computers and math teaching software influenced nine dimensions of reform. Teachers were selected on the basis of their commitment to math reform and their technological literacy. Interviews and observations over five months found that technology had its greatest impact by helping teachers expand the scope of their programs and by promoting positive attitudes toward math. Teachers adapted computer tasks to fit their off-line activities, heightening or depleting the contribution of technology to reform. The computer promoted equity of access to all forms and strands of mathematics but this did not necessarily ensure that all students had access to higher math. None of the teachers realized the potential of the computer to increase student-student construction of mathematical ideas, in part because of hardware problems but more because of their decision to assign students to individual computer tasks.