Improving Academic Outcomes in Mathematics Classrooms With Whiteboards

In a math classroom, the teacher cannot neglect the need for providing a print rich environment. “Word walls are a technique that many classroom teachers use to help students become fluent with the language of mathematics. It is vital that vocabulary be taught as part of a lesson and not be taught as a separate activity” (Draper, 2012). Draper acknowledges the fact that words in mathematics may be confusing for students to study as “words and phrases that mean one thing in the world of mathematics mean another in every day context. For example, the word “similar” means “alike” in everyday usage, whereas in mathematics similar has to have proportionality” (Draper, 2012). Fites (2002) argues that the way a math problem is written drastically will effect a student’s performance, not just in reading the problem, but in solving the math equation as well. There is where the misinterpreting of different word meanings in math comes into play. Fites continues with the importance of understanding vocabulary not just in reading but for math as well with the correlation between improved vocabularies in math yields improvement on verbal problem solving

Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.

The Case of Randy Harris describes the lesson of a middle school mathematics teacher, and how he uses diagrams, questions, and other methods to guide his students to a better understanding. Throughout his case study, Harris’ methods could be easily compared to that of the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices. There are eight mathematical teaching practices that support student learning, most of which are performed throughout Randy Harris’ lesson. Harris didn’t perform each teaching practice perfectly, despite doing the majority of them throughout his lessons. The following are examples of how Randy Harris implemented the eight mathematical teaching practices into his lesson, and how the ones that were neglected should have been

Although I had stepped into high school classes before I was not prepared for the student’s aversion to participating in classroom competitions if they involved going up to the white board. Not all of my students feel this way but enough to bandwagon out of the idea. I will have to slowly progress from individual working to small group work and finally to classroom discussions and having the students share their knowledge via whiteboard use.

As the focus of math changes students are asked to develop their mathematical thinking rather than their calculating. “While math traditionalist are correct that it is beneficial to memorize formulas, facts, and algorithms, the math reformists emphasize the need for students to have avenues such as journals, portfolios, or projects to demonstrate their understanding” (Kostos & Shin 2010). In math it is difficult to encourage students to think critically when many students, teachers, and administrators are drawn to the idea of right verse wrong. In mathmatics many hold tight to the idea that there is one correct answer and one way to get to the correct answer and that’s it; parents and teachers were taught mathematics just like this. Now with the focus changing we have students who are challenged to look at math differently. The focus of looking at mathematics as critical thinking, number manipulation, reflection and strategy has been hard for many to grasp. It is important that students are challenged to critically think and problem solve so they are capable of transferring their learning to new and different situations. Students must have the ability to problem solve and apply their thinking because as our world changes and technology gets more advanced we can no longer predict the situations our students will be in. Teachers must encourage critical thinking, so students are ready to enter an ever-changing

The recent change in the national curriculum in mathematics, as well as having positive impacts, will also cause issues in teaching and learning mathematics. One of the

For as long as many of us can remember, teachers in classrooms would be found lecturing next to the chalkboard with a piece of chalk in hand. In a time when Smart Boards did not exist, when schools only had a few desktop computers, when most teachers were not even adept at using technology, chalkboards were the norm. After the teacher introduced or reviewed a concept in class, students were sent home with a worksheet of practice problems they were expected to complete at home. In 2018, however, the traditional methods of delivering information to students are outdated. Children today grow up never knowing a world without smartphones, tablets, or computers. In this everchanging, fast-paced world, it is vital that educators adapt to the needs of today’s students and find ways to deliver information that will hold their attention. One of the most effective ways of teaching math to today’s youth is through the use of technology in flipped classrooms.

The purpose of this research project was to determine whether or not using individual whiteboards in mathematics is an effective strategy for increasing student learning. A common theme in the subject of mathematics is the requirement of students using a pen and pencil to fill out a worksheet that encompasses a list of problems for them to solve. However, this practice becomes monotonous and boring for the students which ultimately negatively impacting their engagement. Therefore, a formative assessment tool like the individual whiteboard can be implemented to spark engagement. Whiteboards are easily accessible and a change of pace in the everyday classroom. They are an operative tool for teachers to implement in their classroom. It was

Mathematics is a social discipline involving the exchange of ideas at its very core. I designed my lesson plans to incorporate standards and goals that offer and teach the students ideas, strategies, justifications, and solutions for others to evaluate. In turn, peers

Last year, I completed a long-term placement in a third grade classroom. I often utilized the Smartboard to display learning materials. I frequently created Prezis and PowerPoints to present important information to my students. Additionally, I used Go Animate to create animated videos to communicate information. Personally, I am a visual and auditory learner and I found throughout my education I struggled academically. As a result, I try to incorporate a variety of learning strategies and techniques to help a variety of learners throughout my lessons. I found that many students respond to videos, books, and pictures if it is presented on the Smartboard. Furthermore, I found that computers have the capability to improve students’ subject knowledge and facilitate understanding.

Goos, M. Stillman, G. & Vale,C. (2007). Teaching secondary mathematics. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

The main idea of this article is to teach teachers how make their own reflections every time they implement a mathematical task as a framework. According to the article, it is very important to reflect teaching individually and with colleagues. Stein and Smith explain that making reflections might be a difficult task to do since teachers do not know where to focus on. They also mention how their experiences with middle school teachers in the QUASAR (Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning) 
project have helped them to see that by focusing on mathematical tasks and their phases of classroom use can assist teachers when making reflections. Another important point that they talk about in this article is the way they explain how important is to focus on mathematical tasks. They explain two ways on how to present a task, in which teachers could either implement lower-level demands or higher-level demands. Lower- level demands consist of letting students memorize procedures without making connections. On the other hand, they describe higher-level demands as giving the students the opportunity to think more in depth, while at the same time making connections. For instance, in the article they show us a picture, where memorization becomes a way to learn that 1/2= 0.50=50% and no connections at all. Procedures with connections, in this case, higher- level demands, are more complex examples. For example, “using a 10 × 10 grid, identify the decimal

The emergence of 21st century learning and skills has been a direct consequence of the dawn of a technology driven century where the half life of current knowledge shrinks by the second. The domain of mathematics has consequently seen a newfound impetus on learning and innovation skills as defined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The primary goals of designing learning environments have taken a turn towards ‘mathematisation of the child’s thinking’ (NCF, 2005), rather than just building on core mathematics concepts. But despite concretizing these modern goals in national policy and curriculum design

There are many advantages that a student who learns in a classroom with an interactive whiteboard will experience. Students in the class enjoy learning while using the board because it increases their enjoyment and motivation in the lesson. Students today have grown up with technology and enjoy being a part of it, whether it is watching it or interacting with it. “Children of the 21st century have been part of a multi-media world from birth, and as a result they are comfortable with such technologies and this experience can be exploited in the learning environment.” (Hall & Higgins, 2005, p. 106) Students are also more willing to participate in class when there is an interactive white board. One reason for this is that students enjoy touching the board and manipulating objects. Most students are familiar with technology and find some of the activities on the board similar to video games that they are accustom to playing. Students who are at the board have the opportunity to interact with concepts being taught and this interaction, can lead to classroom discussion. Students want to be apart of what they are learning and feel that their thoughts are valued, one way for this to happen is through open classroom discussion. When a student feels as if they have an opinion of what is being learned instead of just being handed the information from the teacher, they experience an increase in motivation in their learning process.

“Mathematics” is a polarizing word for many people and very often it evokes numerous personal reactions, commonly an anxiety reaction. Surprisingly, I am not speaking here only about students, but more importantly about the people who teach mathematics. As the study done by Alan B. Bates, Nancy I. Latham, and Jin-ah Kim indicated, many teachers have fears about teaching mathematics and how teachers’ fears influence students, their learning outcomes, and how mathematics has impacted them in their years of teaching. These finding are also relevant to how I felt about teaching math due to lack confidence in my teaching abilities of mathematical content knowledge. However, as I am reflecting on this past semester that I spent learning about math trajectories as well as math content knowledge, I feel much more confident in exposing my students to math. I think that mathematics is not an easy concept to teach and it requires good strategies to be a successful teacher, but if we do not try to teach it, we will never gain confidence in it.