How do teachers use digital technology in classrooms? Characterizing mathematics teachers' teaching practices

Digital technology has the potential to improve student learning, especially in mathematics. However, the extent to which students benefit from technology largely depends on how it is integrated into instruction. Nevertheless, little is known about how teachers implement digital technology in the classroom. This study examines how 14 in-service teachers use a digital tool for teaching fractions in 15–20 lessons. We used classroom observation to identify teaching practices, and cluster analysis to group them into teaching approaches. Four main approaches of teaching with digital technology emerged: (i) Practicing, where teachers used various features of the tool to make students practice the learning content, (ii) Presenting, where teachers used the tool predominantly to present the learning content but did not utilize many features, (iii) Motivating Students, where the tool and especially its game-like features were used as a reward for students, and (iv) Low-Guidance, where the teacher did not provide guidance for students how to use the tool. Teaching practices varied between these approaches in several dimensions, for example in how teachers explained the learning content, how they implemented rules, and which learning materials they selected. The findings highlight large variation in integrating even one and the same digital tool in the mathematics classroom. We identified teaching approaches for technology-enhanced learning settings that can inform future research investigating how technology implementation influences student learning. These approaches may also guide the design of professional development programs that support teachers in developing effective strategies for integrating digital technology into their instruction.

Journal article