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Article Excerpt
Included in contemporary mathematics curricula is the expectation that mathematics teachers will use technology--computers and calculators--in their classrooms. It is widely believed in Australian educational circles and in society at large that students' learning will be enhanced by engaging with these technologies. For children to use computers for mathematics learning, their teachers must want to use the technology and be enabled to do so. In this article, factors identified as encouraging or inhibiting computer use in Victorian (Australia) secondary mathematics classrooms are reported. Data were gathered from a large sample of teachers, surveyed twice over a 3-year period. The sets of encouraging and inhibiting factors were similar--that is, the presence or absence of particular factors appears to make a difference. It was disturbing to note that the identified factors differed little from those reported over a decade ago; they were also consistent with those identified by teachers elsewhere in the world and across various disciplines. The findings send strong messages to those empowered to make a difference. Whether overcoming the inhibitors will result in greater use of computers for mathematics learning and whether computer use will make a difference to students' learning are issues still requiring evidential support.
INTRODUCTION
Computers are now commonplace in classrooms across Australia and there is steady pressure on teachers to incorporate them into their teaching. In contemporary Australian mathematics curricula in most states, there is also the expectation that teachers will use technology--computers and calculators--in their teaching of mathematics at all levels. For example, in the overview of the Victorian curriculum, the Curriculum and Standards Framework II [CSF] (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA], 2001a), the following is found: The CSF encourages full use of the flexibility and value for teaching and learning programs provided by the increased application of information and communications technology (ICT) ... The CSF acknowledges that through the effective use and integration of ICT students are quickly developing new capabilities and that teachers have greater choice in creative teaching, assessment techniques and connections to students learning at home. An Information and Communications Technology (ICT) chart (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2001b) accompanies the Mathematics CSF. The ICT chart reveals that students at levels 5 & 6 (grades 7-10) are expected to use and develop the following ICT applications and skills: file management, graphics, multimedia, electronic communication, data-logging, database, spreadsheet, desktop publishing, simulation/modeling, graphics calculators, and Computer Algebra Systems [CAS].
Similar statements about technology use and expected benefits to students' learning are found elsewhere in the world. For example, in the U.S., one of the six principles underpinning the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000) is the technology principle: Technology. Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances students' learning. (p. 11) In the reality of school settings, it seems important to know which factors promote and which factors serve to hinder mathematics teachers from bringing these technologies into their classrooms. Exploring this issue, with a focus on computers for the learning of mathematics at the secondary level, was among the main aims of a 3-year study on which the findings reported in this article are based. To address this research aim, a survey questionnaire comprised of closed and open-ended items was used as the main data gathering instrument. The questionnaire was administered to grade 7-10 mathematics teachers from a representative sample of co-educational secondary schools in urban and rural Victoria across the three Australian educational sectors--government, Catholic, and Independent (i.e., non-Catholic, non-government). The survey was administered in 2001 and again in 2003. In both years, teachers from the same schools were invited to participate and, to avoid school bias (the schools differed in enrollment numbers), only one teacher at each grade level in each school provided data. The items designed to gather the necessary data included in the survey instrument were developed from earlier research findings in the field, a summary of which is presented in the next section.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
Factors Encouraging and Hindering Computer Use in Schools
Bringing computers into classrooms can have profound effects on teachers. Goodson and Mangan (1995) claimed that computers challenge teachers' technical abilities, place new demands on their time and energy, and require them to adopt significant changes in their teaching strategies. In the U.S., Smerdon et al. (2000) found in their study that only half of the public school teachers who had computers available in their schools used them for classroom teaching and learning. The teachers' perceptions of the barriers to computer and Internet use for instruction were also examined. Most frequently, the teachers reported lack of release time to learn how to use computers or the Internet (82%), lack of time in the daily schedule for students to use computers in class (80%), and insufficient numbers of computers...
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