Barriers Affecting Mathematics Teachers Use of Information and Communication Technology - Term Paper Example

BARRIERS AFFECTING MATHEMATIC TEACHERS’ USE OF ICT Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: (31 May, 2010) Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Rationale for the choice of the journal 3 Introduction 4 Reasons why ICT should be integrated in mathematic teaching practice 4 Barriers which teachers encounter in teaching mathematics in classes 6 Knowledge and skills 6 The institutional leadership 7 Perceptions and attitudes 7 Assessment 8 Institution beliefs 9 How such barriers may be overcome 10 Shared vision and plan 10 Scarcity resource 11 Attitudes and beliefs 12 Assessment 12 Conclusion 13 References 15 Rationale for the choice of the journal The aim of “the international society for technology in education (ISTE’s)” journal is to educate and provide guidelines in the teaching practice. The journal addresses the teaching staffs and assists them to use ICT in their teaching practice. It therefore acts as a roadmap through which the teachers use technology integrated measures in their teaching practice. Since it was launched in 1998, it has really improved the learning and teaching techniques in schools and other learning institutions. The ISTE’s work closely with the national education technology standards (NETS) and the two aims at ensuring that mathematics and other arts and science related teachers use technology in their teaching practices. The NETS actively participates in measuring the proficiency of educational systems in the various learning institutions. It also uses benchmarking to ensure that high quality standards are maintained in the education system not only in the US but also in other countries across the globe. The main audience of the ISTE’s includes the teachers, technology coordinators, library specialists, administrators and the policy makers. In the discussion the article will address some of the barriers of ICT use in teaching practice and how they can be overcome. It also aims at ensuring that the students get to enjoy quality and practical knowledge which they can utilize in the real world. I have selected this journal since ICT have become a necessary requirement in the current global economy. Since most of the manufacturing and production sectors use information and communication technology in their operations, it therefore becomes important to introduce the same in the learning institutions. This is because integrating technology in the learning activities will sufficiently prepare the students to face the real world experiences. It is also important considering the fact that there are many barriers towards the technology integration. The journal has an optimal word limit of 3500 and follows an APA format of referencing (http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=About_ISTE ). Barriers that affect mathematics teacher’s use of ICT Introduction The continued growth and development of the information and communication technology (ICT) is gradually forcing a change in the teaching practice. This is because ICT is believed to have power and ability to ease education system as it is convenient, accurate and efficient. But it is still shocking to note that most of the higher learning institutions are still lugging behind in the ICT implementations. Despite acknowledging that ICT is beneficial quite a good number of faculties in the various universities around the globe face huge barriers in integrating technology into the teaching system. The economic and sociological factors continue to bar effective integration of the ICT in the learning institutions. Lack of adequate resource, knowledge and skills, proper and efficient institutional leadership, positive attitude and beliefs, proper assessment and subjective cultures are some of the key barriers that hinder technology-integration in the learning institutions. There are however appropriate measures which can be used to overcome the above barriers. This professional journal seeks to analyze some of the barriers that affect mathematics teacher’s use of ICT. Reasons why ICT should be integrated in mathematic teaching practice The journal below seeks to analyze some of the critical barriers that the teaching staffs face while undertaking their mathematical lessons in the various learning institutions. The analysis will focus on the information and communication technology (ICT) and how it impacts on mathematics as a subject. Al-senaidi (2009) argues that more benefits will accrue to the students if mathematics teachers effectively utilize ICT in their teaching practice. However the journal point out that inadequacy in the infrastructural resources and teachers resistance to change is some of the major barriers that continue to affect mathematics subject in the various institutions. Various countries have opted to undertake some research on how effectively teachers use ICT in the various subjects. Pelgrum and Voogt (2009) found that most teachers from HIMA countries use a learner centered mode of education while teachers from LOMA countries does not (1). According to this journal article states, institutions and teachers are the major limiting factors for the ICT use in the teaching practice. It should also be noted that different perceptions towards technology greatly participate in limiting the ICT use in the various schools. The technology skills both in the students and teachers significantly affect their perceptions on the applicability of technology in the learning process. The technology integration is also influenced by the teacher’s beliefs on how the overall process will impact on their work. And it is because of this reason that many teachers are often rebellious since they strongly believe that the traditional teaching methods are more efficient compared to the technology integrated. In order to effectively integrate ICT with mathematics enough and appropriate changes are required in the curriculum. As a result students will have a chance to enjoy wide and diverse mathematics view and perspectives. Proper and efficient training sessions should also be provided to the teachers in order to enable integration of technology in their work. Although it is evident that computer use can effectively make it easy for the students to and teachers in some notable topics, knowledge is required to handle and manipulate such data. The MANOVA, ANOVA are some of the few programs which enable students to obtain accurate research results. Teachers also use the teacher’s technology questionnaires and technology skills assessment to obtain necessary data in a given research. The curriculum and standard framework requires a change in order to accommodate flexibility and ICT teaching and learning programs. Barriers which teachers encounter in teaching mathematics in classes Knowledge and skills Majority of the institutions lacks adequate technology supported skills and knowledge. Teachers also lack proper knowledge and skills to manage their classes. For instance they lack skills to effectively use database and spreadsheets in their routine activities. Limited knowledge in computer technology tends to limit mathematics teachers in their work. In most cases majority of mathematics teachers never undertook any technology related careers when they were undertaking their teaching profession. This therefore ends up limiting them knowledge wise. It is important to understand that effective ICT use requires teachers to have basic knowledge and skills in technology related fields. The basic knowledge and skills in the ICT should enable teachers to effectively apply computer hardware and software in their teaching practice. Some teachers are also unable to connect technology with their subjects. Since one ought to have a technology supported pedagogy in order to effectively relate their career with technology, it becomes difficult to adopt the new technology system. However, teachers should understand that effective use of technology is either obtained through replacement, amplification or transformation. With the replacement teachers will tend to alter the meaning and the overall teaching sessions in the classes using ICT (Pelgrum & Voogt, 2009). Nevertheless, the key learning objective is retained. Amplification on the other hand aims at improving the efficiency and effectiveness in the teaching career. Transformation also tends to provide potential innovativeness in educational activities. Computer database, graphing, simulation software are used to enhance accuracy in the mathematic calculations. The institutional leadership Lack of efficient leadership, teaching structure and planning in the learning institutions greatly influences technology integration by the teachers. Research shows that the majority of Hong Kong teachers to not agree with the government on the education system shift. This is because the Chinese government has proposed a shift of education system into a more learner-centered system. Rigid and inflexible time schedule also acts as a big barrier to technology integration (Pelgrum & Voogt, 2009). The majority of secondary schools timetable in the US gives students very short time to do their class assignment a move which hinders proper understanding. The short time limits also hinders teachers from designing effective modernity’s which maximizes their efforts. It is also important to know that very few teachers plan for their classes. This mostly applicable to those lessons which rarely uses computers in the teaching activities such as mathematic. Proper plan therefore ought to be established in order to ensure that technology is effectively integrated in the teaching practice. Perceptions and attitudes The negative attitudes of the teachers significantly bar effectiveness of ICT in the learning institutions. Attitude is the like and dislike attitude which people may have towards something. It is believed that majority of the students have a positive attitude towards the use of computer algebra system as it’s more easy to understand. Such technologies also enable them handle a two dimension geometric figures which is difficult to understand manually. Beliefs on the other hand are the assumption of something which is felt and taken to be true. It should also be noted that the decision to use or not to use technology will always tend to be left to the teachers (Hew & Brush, 2007). There are those teachers who view technology as an efficient way of teaching, while others believe that technology is just by a way of keeping students busy. The negative attitude and beliefs therefore causes teachers to mostly schedule computer lessons after regular classes. Majority of teachers believe that other skills and knowledge are important compared to technological skills. Such perception therefore becomes a major barrier of technology integrations in the learning institution. Such perceptions are common in the Australian and Cyprus secondary schools (Wood, E. et al. (2005). Despite the fact that the two countries acknowledge the power of technology in the global advancement, they are yet to be fully convinced otherwise. Assessment Quite a good number of teachers lack a proper measuring technique which can enable them to gauge the understandability of their students. Majority of the institutions still uses traditional assessment methods which are mainly depicted by the high-stake testing. The high-stake testing however only offers little time for the teachers to effectively use technology in their teaching practice. Teachers also feel that they can cover much work when they are in the front of the class talking to their students than when they use technology. This is because they believe that more technological planning will be required in selecting perfect software to match a certain topic. It is also evident that technological assessment techniques in most cases fail to conform to the external traditional examination requirement set out to learn most of the learning systems (Hew & Brush, 2007). The technological assessment therefore enhances internal learning which is not recognized externally. For instance the continued allowance of students to use the graphic calculators in the various schools can prove problematic if the same is not legalized in the national examination. The problem even worsens since the national examination is the recognized assessment test which enables students to proceed to the next level. Technology limitation for such assessments therefore acts as a barrier to the effective integration and consequently lowers teacher’s morale and enthusiasm. Institution beliefs Since time in memorial there has been a long-standing history of how things are run in the academic institutions. Many teachers therefore continue to follow the same cultural trend as it was applied in the previous generation. In most cases the school practices are mainly dictated by the typically shaped subject content and assessment. Teachers have therefore become reluctant in adopting new technologies in the teaching systems since they feel comfortable exercising the same trend over and over again. Some of the teachers argue that ICT is incompatible with the norms and the culture of the subject. For instance some of the mathematic teachers argue that drawing curves using the mouse can lead to a more disjointed graph than when the student uses free hand to do the same. Others also accuse technology use of failing to encourage creativity and innovativeness amongst the student since computer will in most case have a predetermined solutions to many problems (Judson, 2006). This however denies students a chance of using more efficient mathematical tools such as geometer’s sketchpads which assists them to solve geometry problems. How such barriers may be overcome It is important to understand that despite the opposition that is currently there in the many learning institutions, ICT stills needs to be implemented for it will be more advantageous to the students. Teachers and institutions therefore ought to acknowledge that there are more benefits that accrue to them by adopting new technologies. Certain strategies should however be used in order to ensure that desired objectives are obtained. The ICT objectives in this case will be to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in mathematic teaching practice in schools (Lim & Khine, 2006). The strategies which both the teachers and the institutions should consider adopting are as discussed below. Shared vision and plan With a vision and a plan, learning institutions will have a focus and sense of direction which should act as a guide. The same will also be used as a driving force to the teaching staff and will therefore assist the, to overcome the barrier to use ICT. The shared vision will also enable the institution leaders and teachers to coherently and effectively communicate the need of adopting technological systems in the learning systems. This is because they themselves will have understood the importance of the same. An integrated plan should therefore be put in place in order to guide the implementation process in the schools. It is evident that lack of vision has been the major limitation to the teachers and leaders as they have never tried to look at the positive side of technology integration in the learning institutions (Lowther, 2008). Teachers are therefore supposed to establish and address the relationship between technology and mathematic subject. The shared vision will therefore enable them to synchronize technology and mathematic curriculum. It is therefore important to emphasize the use of technology in the subject’s curriculum in order to commit teachers into using it. In order to successfully attain the vision and integration plan, all institutions should equip their laboratories with relevant technology resources. Equitable access to the technology resource by both the teachers and students should be encouraged at all time. It is also important for the institutions to design a proper rewarding technique in order to motivate teachers in their work. In order to exert pressure on the teachers there should be technology-integrated lessons regularly. The institutions should also ensure that mathematic teachers are provided with basic ICT knowledge and skills. Scarcity resource Teachers should establish a hybrid technology set up in the various learning grounds. Cheap computer infrastructures should be used. As a matter of fact institutions should aim at spending fewer amounts in the purchase of the computers. It is also important to ensure that technology is adequately integrated with mathematics as a subject since that will enable teachers to have enough time to connect with their students (Forgasz, 2006). It is also advisable to use laptop with wireless network connections. This is because this will reduce the cost of constructing strong and more secure laboratories in these institutions. Additionally, this will further reduce the laboratory maintenance costs. It is also important for the institutions not to have a centralized computer location. Instead several computers should be placed in each class. This will ensure that all the students have access to the computers whenever it’s necessary. The move will also enable the institution to save on the maintenance cost which would otherwise be used to service the central location. In order to overcome time barrier it is important that institutions should plan to double the time spent in every lesson in particular mathematics since this will give the teachers enough time to exercise their task. Mathematic and other teachers should be offloaded the many tasks they are usually given in order to make sure that more time is set aside for the subject (Niess, (2005). Appropriate technology-integrated curriculum should be developed in order to perfectly suit the system. This can be efficiently done through the reduction of the curriculum content to ensure only relevant topics are left in the syllabus. Institutions should aim at training students on how to handle the computer hardware and software instead of employing many full-time professional technicians. Attitudes and beliefs It is necessary to keep the teachers updated of the current software and skills. The updates will help them to efficiently implement their task without failure. Such should be provided through regular trainings. The principals should also seek to establish proper motivational techniques in order to boost the morale of the teachers and thus encourage them to work even more. Relaxed learning atmosphere is also provided, teachers should allow students to make mistakes and improve on the same (Zandvliet, & Fraser, 2004). This is because it is only through such experiences that the students can perfect on the integrated technology system. The principals also ought to give teachers physiological support so as to better the system (Lin, 2008). Assessment There is a need to reconsider the assessment criteria which currently discourages the integration of technology in the school curriculums. A standard-base assessment tests should be used to replace the traditional assessment criteria. For instance a student should be required to submit power point slides of their mathematics paper and the score should be included in the final paper. Such requirements will encourage students to know how to effectively adopt ICT in their class work assignments. The bottom line should be to introduce technology in the current demand of standard-based accountability which commits both the mathematics teachers and the students in their work. Conclusion Quite a good number of barriers have continued to limit mathematics teachers in the use of ICT in their class work. It should also be noted that different perceptions towards technology greatly participate in limiting the ICT use in the various schools. The technology skills both in the students and teachers significantly affect their perceptions on the applicability of technology in the learning process. The technology integration is also influenced by the teacher’s beliefs on how the overall process will impact on their work. For instance they lack skills to effectively use database and spreadsheets in their routine activities. Limited knowledge in computer technology tends to limit mathematics teachers in their work. In most cases majority of mathematics teachers never undertook any technology related careers when they were undertaking their teaching profession. This therefore ends up limiting them knowledge wise. Lack of efficient leadership, teaching structure and planning in the learning institutions greatly influences technology integration by the teachers. The negative attitudes of the teachers significantly bar effectiveness of ICT in the learning institutions. Attitude is the like and dislike attitude which people may have towards something. Beliefs on the other hand are the assumption of something which is felt and taken to be true. It should also be noted that the decision to use or not to use technology will always tend to be left to the teachers. Despite all the above there is a significant need to overcome this barriers since ICT is considerably important for the growth and development of mathematics as a subject in the various learning institutions around the globe. Proper planning, presence of vision, provision of adequate ICT infrastructure and a change in the assessment techniques are among the few strategies that should be used to improve educational standards around the globe. References Al-Senaidi, S. (2009). Barriers to adopting technology for teaching and learning in Oman. Computers & Education. 53(7): 575-590 Brush, T. (2008). Development of an Instrument to Measure Preservice Teachers Technology Skills, Technology Beliefs and Technology Barriers, Computers in the Schools, 25(1): 112-125 Forgasz, H. (2006). Factors that encourage or inhibit computer use for secondary mathematics teaching. JI. Of Computer in Mathematics and Science Teaching. 25(1): 77-93 Hew, K. & Brush, T. (2007). Integrating Technology In To K-12 Teaching And Learning: Current Knowledge Gaps And Recommendations For Future Research. Education Tech Research Dev. 55(6): 223-252 Judson, E. (2006). How Teachers Integrate Technology And Their Beliefs About Learning: Is There A Connection? Technology and Teacher Education. 14(3): 518-597 Lim, C.P & Khine, M.S. (2006). Managing teachers’ barriers to ICT integration in Singapore schools. JI. Of Technology and Teacher Education. 14(1): 97-125 Lin, C. (2008). Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about Using Technology in the Mathematics Classroom. Jl. of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching. 27(3): 341-360 Lowther, L. (2008). Does Technology Integration “Work” When Key Barriers Are Removed? Educational Media International. 45(3): 195-213 Niess, L. (2005). Preparing Teachers to Teach Mathematics with Technology. New York, Oregon State University. Pelgrum, J & Voogt, J. (2009). School And Teacher Factors Associated with Frequency of ICT use By Mathematics Teachers: Country Comparisons. Educ Information Technology 14(5): 293–308 Wood, E. (2005). Teachers’ Perceptions: Barriers and Supports to Using Technology in the Classroom. Education, Communication & Information, 5(2): 1-14 Zandvliet, D & Fraser, B. (2004). Learning Environments in Information and Communications Technology Classrooms. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 13(1): 97-123. Read More