Technology must partner not serve mathematics learning

Digital technology should be a partner to learning mathematics, rather than a servant by becoming a substitute for work done with a pencil and paper, according to a University of Queensland academic.

In her address to the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) annual conference in Melbourne today, Professor Merrilyn Goos discussed the ways in which research, classroom practice and curriculum policy in the use of digital technologies lined up with each other and informed each other.

“For learners, mathematical knowledge is not fixed but fluid, constantly being created as the learners interact with ideas, people and their environment,” Professor Goos says.

“Technology, when part of the learning environment, can change the nature of school mathematics by engaging students in more active mathematical practices such as experimenting, investigating and problem solving, that bring depth to their learning and encourage them to ask questions rather than only looking for answers.”

Professor Goos said that there was room for improvement in the in the draft K-10 and senior secondary national curriculum for mathematics as technology appeared to be treated as an add-on that replicated by-hand methods of learning.

“Many teachers are already using technology effectively to enhance students’ understanding and enjoyment of mathematics," she said.

"In their hands lie the tasks of enacting a truly futures-oriented curriculum that will prepare students for intelligent, adaptive and critical citizenship in a technology-rich world.”

Merrilyn Goos is Director of the Teaching and Educational Development Institute at The University of Queensland and President of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia.

ACER Research Conference 2010, Teaching Mathematics? Make it count, takes place at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne on 16 and 17 August. Further information is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/conference

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Louise Reynolds – ACER Corporate Communications
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