ONLINE TOOLS TO ENHANCE MATH CLASS

DISCUSSION BOARDS AND MORE

Linda Farmer February 27, 2010

Online Tools in Education

What do you use in your classroom? Teacher website Discussion board Blog Social networking Other?

Outline

Background My study on discussion boards

Results Creating a discussion board Implementation ideas

Other possible online tools Discussion and sharing of ideas

Personal Background

My research on discussion boards came out of my masters’ research project.

Initial research was in the area of homework--a common source of concern and frustration for teachers and students Statistics on homework Impact on achievement Criticisms of homework Methods studied for improving homework

Increasing Support and Interest Homework is often not completed

because it is seen as meaningless by student or because they lack the out-of-class support needed to be successful with it.

Decided to create class discussion board Used for students to ask and answer

questions about class and homework Used for students to complete “interesting

collaborative assignments”

Online Discussion Boards

Technology that has become a “ubiquitous part of today’s distance learning landscape”

Most often been used in higher education

Allows user to post a topic and message; others can reply to a given post

Navigation is simple due to threading

Intended Benefits

Interaction (peer approval, etc.) Allow shy students a voice Improve math communication skills Provide archive of answers

Research Procedure

Two week period during November 2009 Discussion board set up on Wikispaces Students expected to post at least 2

messages per week plus complete a specific collaborative assignment

Teacher and fellow students would respond to questions

Questions involved daily HW, weekly worksheets, general class questions

http://ghsmathmusic.wikispaces.com

Participants

63 students of the researcher’s 4 math classes (2 Geometry, 1 Algebra II, 1 Advanced Algebra & Trigonometry)

Small, rural high school Grade breakdown: 1 freshman, 19

sophomores, 24 juniors, 19 seniors 80% with home Internet access;

computers are available at school

Collaborative Assignment

Geometry “Geometry in the Real World”—find an example, post

picture, describe the math you see Replies were intended to highlight additional

geometry in the picture Algebra II

Red Ribbon Week Activity—find statistics related to drug use and describe an effective way of presenting these

History of Numbers—pi, Euler number, negatives, etc.

Math IV Famous mathematician

Rubric for Assignment

The following scale will be used to determine the score on each criterion A-D below. Points will be totaled and divided by the possible 16 points to get a percentage grade. This will count in the Weekly Worksheet category.

1—Poor: does not meet the requirement; much information is inaccurate2—Adequate: meets but does not surpass the requirement; some

information is inaccurate3—Good: goes a little above what was required; perhaps one or two minor

errors in content4—Excellent: exceeds the minimum requirement; all information is

accurate A. The student completes an original posting on the given topic.B. The student displays a standard use of written English.C. The student includes an appropriate link or source as stated in the

assignment.D. The student makes an appropriate response to another peer’s message.

Data Collection

Surveys on homework attitudes, behaviors, and opinions toward the discussion board

Teacher observation notes Grades Statistics on discussion board use Student interviews Discussion board posts

Quantitative Results

Student Use of Boards 370 total messages; 51% original posts; 16%

teacher; breakdown by class matched class numbers

65% of messages received replies Average of 44 words per post Average of 24 posts per day Average of 12 views per post 94% of students reported using the board 79% found it easy to use Checking for replies (41.6%)

Use Statistics from Discussion Board

Impact on Homework

The discussion board did not appear to create a significant impact on homework in the class. Student opinion of board was generally

neutral to favorable (survey data in tables to follow)

Completion rates and homework grades did not really change during the study

Survey Data

Qualitative Results

Field notes, board posts, & interviews were read and categorized into themes for discussion by the researcher

Relationships of themes placed in concept map

Theme Concept Map

Little actual collaborationLittle actual

collaborationDynamics of interaction

Dynamics of interaction

RespectRespect

Offering encouragement

Offering encouragement

Desire to helpDesire to helpCorrecting each

otherCorrecting each

other

Copy & pastingCopy & pasting

Cognitive levelCognitive level

Use of EnglishUse of English

AccuracyAccuracy

Repeated info & questions

Repeated info & questions

Need of modelsNeed of models

Difficulty of typing math

Difficulty of typing math Posts only for

gradePosts only for

grade

Time & ResourcesTime & Resources

Clarity of expectations

Clarity of expectations

Grading difficultiesGrading

difficulties

Making better responses

Making better responses

Encouraging useEncouraging use

Personal FeelingsPersonal Feelings

Response DecisionsResponse Decisions

Foster collaboration

Foster collaboration

Increasing student

responsibility

Increasing student

responsibility

Providing resource forum

Providing resource forum

EnjoymentEnjoyment Increased thought

Increased thought

Homework Change

Homework Change

Impact on grades

Impact on grades

Factors of Collaboration

Desire to help peers “hope this helps” Older students helping younger ones On proofs: “I think everyone has trouble

understanding them—so you’re not alone. The best way to understand them is to practice with them. …”

Offering encouragement “good project” Need to be taught how to detail compliments “want my classmates to know geometry can be

done if you try”

Factors of Collaboration, cont. Respect

“please, thanks” No attacks or inappropriate comments

Dynamics of interaction Enjoyed fast-paced help Some discussions outside normal social

circles Relaxed atmosphere (particularly seniors)

Correcting each other Little actual collaboration

Quality of Discussion Board Use Use of English language

Abundance of poor spelling and grammar Teacher decision on expectations

Copy and pasting Little original work in the collaborative assignment Information pulled in bulk from other sites (Example

1,2) Accuracy

Overall, good Interesting example

Cognitive level Not as high as envisioned—mostly lower level

Quality, cont.

Repeated information and questions Need to teach students to check if question

has already been asked/answered Better titling of posts

Need of teacher models Due to novelty of assignment, students need

examples. This was provided in Geometry. Difficulty of showing math online

Example Did have suggestion for math type

Teacher-Related Issues

Time and resources Spent 15-20 minutes per day Classroom computer used more Needed assignments with me at home

Decisions on responses Hard to decide when to respond to balance

need for peer collaboration and need for quick answers

Personal feelings Student evaluation is not as common in K-12

schools and can be uncomfortable A few posts gave comments about the class and

teacher

Teacher Issues, cont.

Encouraging use Need to remind more often of availability Extra credit?

Ability to respond better to students Have time to craft a good response to

questions Proof advice example

Grading difficulties Lots of variations Rubric necessary

Making expectations clearer

Benefits of Discussion Board Fostering collaboration Increasing student responsibility

Good for absent students Providing a student resource

Place for general class questions that can take up unnecessary time during class

Enjoyment Increased thought Homework and grade change (or lack

thereof)

My Favorite Posts

Geometry in the Real World Futuroscope, Eiffel Tower, Legos, combine

Very relaxed Math IV discussion Drug comments Imaginary numbers Off the wall comments

“This might not count, but …I’m going to beat [name] on the Algebra II test on Tues. Haha”

Since the Study…

The board was kept up and over 30% had indicated they would continue using it.

There has not been use of the board after the requirement was gone.

Small school atmosphere possibly is a limitation

Ideas for encouraging further use Promote more in class Extra credit

Would like to expand to music history and ACT class and have ongoing use required at some level—start at beginning of year

Creating the Board

Set up website account—Wikispaces, TeacherWeb, etc.

Create student usernames/passwords (optional—could let anyone use)

Important to specify which parts of site users can edit (LOCK)

Get started!

Suggestions for Implementation Don’t think you must answer every

student question! It is for peer collaboration.

Give clear expectations about posting requirements.

Space out deadlines.

Other Online Tools

Over last few months I have increasingly become interested in the number of online tools that can be used by teachers.

Great Website—Free Technology for Teachers www.freetech4teachers.com

Teacher Website

Besides for the discussion board, I use Wikispaces for a general class website.

Can easily edit notes, add images, videos, etc.

What website creators do you use?

Google Docs

Discussion