Technology
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and quality teaching
Research undertaken by the Change and Education Research Group (CERG) at the University of Technology, Sydney raised a number of interesting findings. The most important finding in relation to pedagogy was Key finding 6:
In a large proportion of the classrooms we visited computer-based learning was being integrated in ways that afforded less opportunity for higher-order thinking, deep knowledge and substantive conversation than classrooms where it was not being integrated.
The Quality teaching in NSW public schools: Discussion paper provides an opportunity to examine the ways in which this finding can be addressed. The model can be used to analyse the ways in which ICT can be used to support teaching practice for improved student learning.
The document Computer-based technologies in the Mathematics KLA was originally developed and provided to schools in the late 1990s. Despite the rapid advances in technology, many of the snapshots of classroom practice described in the document are relevant to current syllabus outcomes.
A number of these snapshots have been converted to pdf files and are now available for download from the connected learning stories section of the Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI) website.
A very simple activity for students in Stage 4 is Interpreting graphs which uses a software package Compute-A-Graph to represent data in a variety of forms, including column graphs, bar graphs, pie graphs and picture graphs. As a result of the activity, students will be able to recognise the features of a graph, read and interpret data from a chart or table and pose questions from tables and charts.
Students can of course use any spreadsheet program that includes a charting feature. Students from Stage 4 and Stage 5 are introduced to the concepts of data collection, data analysis and data presentation through the activity Australian statistics.
The Square: Yeah, yeah! activity (Stage 4 and 5) uses drawing software to investigate the square and its properties. This is achieved through the use of electronic grids, rectangle generating tools and the software's capacity to support duplicating, rotating and reflecting shapes.
The Human height graph activity (Stage 4 and 5) has students collect data on other students' heights and organise the information. They graph the collected data on paper, then form a human graph. The computer is used to construct a variety of graph types, allowing students to interpret and manipulate the graph and test "what if" scenarios.
Students engage in collecting data from a variety of sources. These can include the Internet and the Australian Bureau of Statistics web site: http://www.abs.gov.au/
provides a range of up-to-date resources on topics such as population change and even computer use. Students create graphs to represent their findings and analyse their data, looking for trends. From this information, students will be able to suggest possible causes for their findings and use these to make predictions. Statistical investigations typically involve students in posing the question, collecting, recording, organising, representing and interpreting the data.
In Solving simultaneous equations graphically (1), Stage 5 students explore links between the graphs of equations and the solution of simultaneous equations. The first activity makes use of the Internet, while the second uses the software xFunctions 2.2
In Solving simultaneous equations graphically (2), Stage 5 students explore links between the graphs of equations and the solution of simultaneous equations using xFunctions 2.2
Activities such as these provide an excellent opportunity for students to connect mathematics to their world through the application of real-life data.
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