Wentworth and Monroe Co-Present Math Methods to Conference

Dr. Nancy Wentworth

Dr. Nancy Wentworth, an associate chair of BYU’s Department of Teacher Education, and Dr. Eula Monroe, a mathematics methods professor in the same department, presented at the October 2007 conference of the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA). Titled “Children’s Opportunity to Use Technology as a Tool for Mathematical Inquiry in Lessons Designed and Implemented by Preservice Teachers,” their presentation explored technology-enhanced inquiry-based mathematics at the elementary level.

This presentation applied some of Dr. Wentworth’s research in coordination with a three-year technology grant, Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3), awarded to BYU in 1999, on which Wentworth served as the principal investigator. Much of the grant investigation focused specifically on methodology for infusing technology with subject matter across the curriculum. Wentworth dealt with a number of technology tools for teaching with an investigative approach (particularly web quests). The October presentation applied investigative methodology to activities for teaching mathematics, one of Wentworth’s areas of particular interest and expertise.

Dr. Wentworth presented frequently in Dr. Monroe’s elementary math methods classes, including two examples of how to integrate technology effectively into elementary math instruction. The students participated in the sample tasks, then discussed how well each task fulfilled four requirements:

Dr. Eula Monroe

• The students (not only the teacher) used the technology for inquiry learning.
• The students made technology integral to the learning task.
• The lesson focused on mathematical concept, not the technology.
• The mathematics in the task would have been more difficult without the technology.

After the discussion, students created their own inquiry-based math tasks, seeking to fulfill the same four requirements. After peers reviewed each lesson, the students taught their lesson to elementary children as part of their field experience. The students submitted a report at the end of the activity that included the lesson plan and personal reflections.

Dr. Wentworth and Dr. Monroe then coded 44 of the student-proposed tasks according to the above criteria. The October NRMERA presentation discussed some of the student tasks and demonstrated how the future teachers implemented each of the four requirements into the lesson. “The students did an outstanding job focusing on mathematical concepts instead of the technology,” said Wentworth. “In most cases, they designed a task in which the students used the technology.” However, candidates struggled to use the technology in an integral manner and design a task that would have been more difficult without the technology. “It’s great to see the excitement of the students as they develop their own lessons using technology effectively,” she added.

5 March 2008