Preparing Teachers to Use Technology: Considerations from a Capstone Mathematics and Technology Course
Source: Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 10(4), 457-469. (2010).
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
This article reports on the course entitled Capstone Mathematics, Statistics, and Technology for Teachers at Utah State University (USU).
This course combines the goals of a capstone mathematics experience and those of a technology course for future teachers.
The students in this course learn to use technology as they examine secondary mathematics topics from an advanced standpoint.
Students are introduced to technology through instructor-led activities in which they investigate mathematical content.
They also lead the class in authentic mathematics learning activities focusing on employing technology to increase understanding of secondary mathematics topics.
Integrating Objectives in Mathematics and Technology
The objectives of this course are:
Peservice teachers will learn to employ computer-based technologies for analyzing mathematical content from secondary school curricula;
Peservice teachers will design, present, and assess the effectiveness of technology-enhanced mathematical learning activities; and
Peservice teachers will analyze mathematical content from secondary school curricula to interrelate topics, construct critical concepts, discover why relationships exist, discover why certain algorithms work, and apply useful topics to address real-life problems.
The author argues that a course or program that aims to prepare preservice teachers to adapt to and to take advantage of changing technology needs to be adaptable and dynamic itself.
Furthermore, teacher educators can incorporate the best of new technological resources into the course content of subsequent semesters.
The author concludes that technology skills can be most effectively addressed in the context of collaborative mathematics learning experiences.
As students investigate technology capabilities individually and share their knowledge with their peers, they are prepared to take best advantage of educational technologies for fostering the mathematical understanding of their students both now and in the future.