Reference:
Schreyer-Bennethum, L., & Albright, L. (2011).
Evaluating the incorporation of technology and application projects in the
higher education mathematics classroom. International
Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 42(1), 53-63.
Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=7767de4e-aab3-4fec-907b-5fc048c3df56%40sessionmgr111&hid=102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=56448447
The article I read was particularly
interesting to me because it dealt specifically with college level
courses. Even better was the fact that
it dealt with high level mathematics courses, such as Calculus one, two, and
three. The study conducted was in
regards to how students compared when placed in a course that used
Interdisciplinary Lively Application Projects (ILAPs) or a course that did not
use a project based technology learning approach. The article further discusses how the courses
were evaluated for a positive or negative overall learning experience. The article wanted to explore whether taking
class time away from lecture to do ILAPs was beneficial for the students. There were two studies summarized in the
article.
The first
study involved students in multivariable calculus classes. The students were broken into two equal size
groups, with no significant difference between their GPA or perquisite courses. Both groups attended the same class lectures,
in which the lecture had no emphasis on ILAPs.
Each group then attended different 2 hour per week tutorial sessions
required by the course. The control
group went to a conventional tutorial session, where ILAPs were not emphasized
or implemented. The experimental group
when to 1 hour of a conventional tutorial session, but then also 1 hour of an
application tutorial. This continued
throughout the semester. The purpose of
this study was to determine if students in the experimental group achieved
better scores in the course than the control group.
The
results of the first study indicated that the application tutorial was
successful in increasing student learning.
Students in the experimental group has a significantly higher midterm
and final exam score. The control group
had a mean of 57.2 on the midterm, while the experimental group had a mean of
66.1. In addition, on student
evaluations, students in the experimental gave a higher rating for their understanding
of calculus concepts and interest in calculus.
This seems to indicate that the application tutorial not only increased
scores, but allowed student to feel more comfortable with the course material.
The
second study involved an algebra applications course. This course was made to be interdisciplinary,
connected with the science curriculum, and taught using technology and ILAPs. Students in these interdisciplinary courses
were compared to students in a traditional algebra course. The study lasted two semester with a total of
8 courses used for evaluation. Four
sections were interdisciplinary, and four sections were the traditional algebra
course.
The
results did not show any significant difference in problem-solving skills
between the two groups, however students in the interdisciplinary courses had
larger gains in their critical thinking skills. Additionally, students in the
algebra applications course gave higher marks on their course evaluations in
regards to their enjoyment and interest in the course. This outcome will be discussed further in the
implications section of my review.
Both of
these studies used ILAPs to enhance their teaching and learning. The ILAPs encompassed real world applications
in which there could be many correct answers.
Students usually worked in groups to complete the project. An example of an ILAP is a pendulum project,
in which students use an actual pendulum to fit a curve to determine
displacement. Students then would use
this model to derive Newton’s second law.
Most of the projects were interdisciplinary like this one, in which both
physics and math skills were utilized.
One important aspect about these studies conducted was that instructors
were offered professional development opportunities to enhance their skills in
developing ILAPs and implementing technologies.
The authors of the studied noted that it was very difficult to get
instructors to use these experimental models without providing ample opportunity
to explore the material themselves first.
One result for the students also mentioned that a large part of how the
students felt about the ILAPs was dependent on the instructor’s attitude toward
the changed curriculum. In classes where
instructors felt comfortable with the technology and were positive about the
new style of learning, students generally were more receptive to the ILAP
projects.
In
conclusion, when looking at the effectiveness of technology and ILAPs in the
classroom, it is important to look at more than just the grade outcomes. Another important benefit of technology may
be that students enjoy class more than a traditional style lecture. This can be very beneficial for the student’s
learning and understand, because if the student enjoys the course, they may be
more likely to go on to the next course in the sequence. The student otherwise may have lost interest
and not continued in the subject area.
Thus the time it takes to implement the technology and ILAP may be worth
it in regards to sparking curiosity and interest in the student
population. I believe there needs to be
a good balance between technology, ILAPs, and lecture. Lecture cannot be completely replaced, which
is was not in either study, but lecture can be supplemented with technology to
aide in achieving student learning outcomes.
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