TECHNOS

September 8, 2008

Math Teachers and Instructional Media: Study Shows Reluctance and Offers Recommendations

By Joann Flick, AIT’s Broadcast/Training Specialist

“Used in concert with teacher-directed instruction, motion media can help learners in practicing the visualization of a problem.”

The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommends instructional tactics that promote conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts and useful skill development. In a 2005 comprehensive review of significant studies that address efficacy in instructional practice, the NCTM reported that effective instruction may be expository or discovery, teacher-centered or student-centered. The important feature of effective instruction is found in how well the learning activity attends “explicitly to important mathematical relationships.” To promote conceptual understanding, students need to assess a situation independently and apply the correct mathematical formula to solve problems beyond the classroom. Students should be permitted to struggle with challenging, non-specific problems and to discover different paths for viewing and solving a problem—in this way, they will become persistent math students.

Developmental and instructional scientists identify ascending levels of engaging learners and of learning outcomes, with the ultimate goal of formal instruction often referred to generally as “higher-level thinking skills.” Bloom’s taxonomy (1956), Daggett’s Rigor-Relevance Framework (2005), Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction (1985), and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (1978), all promote optimal instruction for broad conceptual understanding where the learner is able to synthesize information and skills to apply in novel or non-specific problems. The concern for promoting higher-level thinking is key to the NCTM’s recent release of Curriculum Focal Points (2006), a curriculum concept that promotes thematic and project-based learning.

The use of motion media for instruction has been demonstrated to be as effective as direct instruction (Schramm 1965). Used in concert with teacher-directed instruction, motion media can help learners in practicing the visualization of a problem. It can motivate learners to explore mathematics by showing the value of math in careers. Motion media can also model positive student and teacher behaviors (National Research Council, 2000).

Unfortunately, media resources to support math instruction are scarce and few address motivation, visualization of the problem, and modeling persistence by students. A review of current products available to teachers in advance of this study revealed that current products tend to be longer format documentary-style materials.

At the same time, delivery systems for media are evolving, allowing teachers to use media more spontaneously or to incorporate media into presentation software (Hodgins, 2004). Yet existing media resources tend to be longer format; at least 10-minute, and often 30-minute, videos are the norm. Stores of videos on network servers allow teachers to find segments more easily, but extracting a useful segment can be time consuming or may require technical video-editing skills.

Media resources such as video, computer games, animations, or simulations can provide useful context for learning abstract concepts (Johnson, 1996, Pogrow, S 1996, National Research Council, 2000). These technologies can also accomplish an important task in instruction: to present the concept in a new way so that learners retain more information and grasp new concepts more readily (NTTI, 2007).

The professionals who served as the advisors of this study report experiences with math teachers who are reluctant to use Internet or video media, games, or other visual technologies to assist in representing problems or in giving real-life context to math. The advisors report that they have little understanding about the specific factors that may contribute to this reluctance or circumstances that might promote more use of visual technology. Specifically, the group is interested in learning about math teachers’ attitudes and their perceived support and access to media technologies. The advisors primarily deal with video technology, including digital video-on-demand.

This study focused on the views of middle and high school math teachers and how they consider their choices relative to instructional materials, as well as how their perceptions and perceived hurdles may impact their choice to use or not use technology. The purpose is to identify useful strategies that will encourage more math teachers to utilize visual technology for the benefits it offers to instruction and learning.

Our study was designed to address the following questions:

What are some of the factors that promote the use of media for instruction in high school math classes?
What hurdles or perceived hurdles adversely impact a teacher’s inclination to use media technology?
Are some high school math teachers innately averse to using media for instruction?

A limitation of this study is the fact that participants self-selected and were recruited by a provider of educational media services. These two factors could skew the sample to reflect users pre-disposed to using media. The data reported reflect the perceptions of the respondents and may not be a correct perception. For instance, a teacher may report that s/he does not have adequate technology support, even if his or her school has made reasonable efforts to provide it. Therefore, the data cannot be construed to represent the actual situation, rather the perceived condition only.

The delimitations of the sample include a focus on middle and high school math teachers, so the data cannot be construed to reflect perceptions of teachers of other disciplines. Further, the sample is comprised of two-thirds Utah teachers, and except for six respondents from Wisconsin, the remainder are from near Dallas. The respondents represent more suburban schools with less racial diversity than is generally found in most parts of the United States.

The sample represents a majority of respondents from Utah, where media is provided to schools by the state education department and support services in the form of professional development, and online access to video is widely available though the Utah Education Network (a service of the University of Utah). Not all teachers in every state have a similar support network to draw from.

With greater understanding of the perceptions and perceived hurdles that hinder technology utilization among math teachers, technology providers and schools will be able to facilitate effective use of instructional technology. If the data prove that math teachers are not innately averse, then this study can allay a pervasive myth that providers of media may subscribe to, and direct attention toward addressing real issues that inhibit utilization of media technology.

Methodology

This study focuses on high school and middle school teachers. The genesis of the study was the concern of a group of state education officials who select and provide media resources to K-12 schools. These professionals from Utah, Florida, and Wisconsin along with a public broadcasting director of education from Dallas (a man who previously taught high school mathematics in Texas) expressed a concern to the author that math teachers are averse to using instructional media. This notion, according to the group, was widely held by media providers, like themselves. Upon reflection, it was decided that it may not be that teachers are innately averse but that they experience difficulty in accessing appropriate media resources either because the technology presents hurdles or the quality of the content is a problem. The group proposed further study and offered to help promote an online survey to gather responses.

The purpose of this study, then, was to more clearly define the perceived hurdles that impact the use of instructional media in math classes at the middle and high school levels. With a clearer understanding of these hurdles, the providers of instructional media will be able to identify useful strategies that will encourage more math teachers to utilize visual technology for the benefits it offers to instruction and learning.

An online survey was used to collect the opinions and record the experiences of five dozen Math teachers, using the online tool Survey Monkey. Participants were recruited from November 2006 though March of 2007. Respondents were recruited by the Utah Education Network, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, and KERA-TV, the PBS station in Dallas, TX. The sample responding to the survey was made up of volunteers and fully self-selected. Two-thirds of the respondents were from the state of Utah, and except for six responses from Wisconsin, the remainder were from Texas. Total responses numbered 153; 127 responses completed every question in the survey.

The survey questions asked about the perceived problems that math teachers encounter when using technology and also asked them to report how often they used different types of technology and what types of uses for media technology they believed were valid. Some demographic data was also collected regarding the size of their school, the ethnic character of school, and whether the school was in an urban, suburban, or rural community.

To establish validity of the survey instrument, state education officials from Florida and Wisconsin, the Director of Education at the Utah Education Network, and the Director of Education at KERA-TV acted as an advisory committee to review the instrument. Suggested changes were discussed via conference call in October 2006 and several modifications were made to the survey.

Teachers were asked to report on how frequently they used different types of media and technologies along a graded 5-level scale, similar, but not numerically equivalent, to a Likert scale. Similarly, teachers were also asked to rate the level of different types of support for and access to technology in their schools. They were asked to rate their own level of technology expertise and to provide a rating for their peer teachers at their school. Teachers were asked to provide a short answer to the question: “What single factor most impacts your use of technology for instruction?”

In order to answer the question as to whether or not teachers are innately averse to using media and other forms of technology, the survey questions address this issue in a number of different ways, collecting both quantitative data (graded scales, check lists, and reports of frequency of use) and qualitative data in the form of the short-answer response. (Summary of Survey Results)

Availability of technology was reported as the most significant hurdle. In a section asking respondents to rate their school's level of access to and support for technology, additional insights into that important concern can be found. Forty-five percent of respondents indicated that access to a computer and projector was barely adequate or inadequate. Yet, nearly half noted that they preferred to play video from a DVD in a computer. The survey did not ask about availability of DVD players, but a large majority of teachers (74 percent) reported that they prefer to use a DVD player to view video resources.
Adequate computers in class was another concern cited, with 54 percent reporting that they have no computer in class and only 14 percent reporting sufficient or exemplary level of computers in class. The ability to store and view video on computers was rated sufficient or exemplary by only 36 percent of respondents, with the remainder rating their school at barely adequate (21 percent), some, but not adequate (21 percent) or none (18 percent).
The availability of appropriate content was the next most frequently reported factor. Question 4 in the survey asked teachers to report how often they used different types of media for math instruction. While not a direct inquiry into the issue of appropriate content, this question does illustrate what types of content teachers both like and what they don't like. Textbooks and printed handouts were frequently used (more than once per week) by a large majority of respondents: 76 percent reported using textbooks, and 73 percent reported using printed handouts. Sixty percent reported that they never used computer games for instruction, 39 percent reported they never used animations, and 37 percent reported that they never used computer simulations. Video use, by contrast, was reported to be a relatively common feature in math classrooms. While 25 percent said they never used video, most reported that they used video once in a while (40 percent) or a few times a year (28 percent), with six percent using video once or more per month and 2 percent weekly. Online Web resources were reported to be used a bit more frequently than video. So, print resources were the media of choice for teachers, followed by online resources, and video. Animations and computer simulations showed mixed results, and computer games are clearly not favored.
The issue of sufficient time to plan showed up as a significant response two times in the survey, once in the short answer to the open question reported above and again in the response to question 5: “Describe the level of technology access and support at your school.” In response to this question, time to plan was not rated as exemplary by any respondent, and only 9 percent responded that they had sufficient time to plan. The remainder noted that time was a problem: 23 percent said it was barely adequate, 40 percent said that they had some time but that it was not adequate, and 28 percent said they had no time to plan. Time to plan is an important issue in preparing for technology integration, and especially in using video because teachers need to search, find, and preview materials before they use them. Some teachers have to request video resources from a media library, and that also takes time.
Several teachers mentioned that the value of the media technology to learning was an important factor. This group of responses may be related to the issue of appropriate content or perhaps to a teacher's willingness to use technology only when it has a notable value.
The ease of implementing the technology was also noted several times in the short-answer response. This response group may explain why teachers are more likely to use textbooks and printed handouts than any other media.

Teachers were asked to rate their own technology expertise and the expertise of most of their peer teachers at their school. Respondents rated themselves, overall, as more tech savvy than their peers. Nearly all considered themselves average or better (97 percent), and 15 percent rated themselves as “very tech-savvy: fearless and knowledgeable.” They rated 13 percent of their peers as barely functional or worse, 52 percent average, 23 percent capable, but only 1 percent tech-savvy.

When asked about how often they use different technologies, rather than focusing on types of media, there were few technologies that appeared to be popular and frequently used.

Electronic calculators clearly led the pack, with 72 percent reporting use every week.
Computer-projected images were reported to be used more than once per month by 37 percent, online lesson plans 26 percent, and the interactive white board 20 percent.
Only 13 percent reported that they assign work to students that require computer access once or more per month, and only 7 percent use computer games once or more per month.
The new rage in computing, hand-held devices such as PDAs or iPods, are very rarely used by these respondents, with 88 percent reporting that they never use them, 6 percent reporting use once in a while, 3 percent a few times per year, and just 3 percent reporting weekly use.

Teachers were also asked to select different types of content that they would likely use. They were given a list of different types of media content and also permitted to express an opinion that they would not use any media for instruction. Only 2 percent responded that they would not use video, and responses for all the video content listed was quite positive. For instance:

85 percent said they would likely use video that shows real-life applications of math concepts
71 percent said they would use visualizations of complex or 3-D concepts
69 percent said they would use interactive computer simulations
66 percent would use online problems with animations or illustrations
46 percent would use video introducing a project-based learning activity
40 percent said they would use computer games that featured animated problems
30 percent said they would use video that modeled students being persistent in solving problems
28 percent said they would use biographies of career mathematicians on video

The respondents were mostly middle and high school math teachers (90.3 percent), the remainder were teachers of other grades (1.4 percent) administrators (1.4 percent), curriculum specialists (2.1 percent), a home-school teacher, cross-discipline teachers, a math coach, one pre-service instructor, and a home/hospital tutor.

The schools where these teachers worked were reported as mostly suburban (40 percent), with rural schools representing 32 percent and urban schools 27 percent. Most respondents characterized the ethnicity of the schools where they worked as mostly white (63 percent), 19 percent reported their school was mostly minority, and 19 percent reported their school mixed in ethnicity.

The size of the schools where the respondent teachers worked varied from less than 200 students K-12 (7 percent) to more than 10,000 students (8 percent). Just a little over half the respondents, however, worked at a medium-sized school with enrollments of 1001-3,000 (51 percent). Utah teachers comprised 67 percent of the respondents, 28 percent were from Texas, and 4 percent were from Wisconsin.

Conclusions

What are some of the factors that promote the use of media for instruction in high school math classes?

Survey responses indicated that providing appropriate resources, making certain that materials have positive impact on instruction, are easy to implement and readily accessible are all key factors that will promote use of media. Given that teachers reported such limited time to plan, it is important to consider ways to make media resources known to teachers, so they don't have to search for them and also to provide teachers with tools that expedite planning. Video resources should show a real-life application of key math concepts, as that content description received a great deal of interest from the respondents.

The advent of hand-held computing does not seem to be a factor that is promoting use of media in the math classroom. Media developers may want to reconsider imminent plans to jump on the podcasting bandwagon, or, while they initiate podcasting, they should maintain other forms of media delivery.
What hurdles or perceived hurdles adversely impact a teacher's inclination to use media technology?

Teachers responding to this survey do not perceive themselves as having particular difficulties with technology, but they do question the quality of resources available and efficacy of integrating technology. For media developers, this finding suggests that they should find ways to engage teachers in the development and selection of media resources, keeping in mind the learning outcomes that teachers are looking for.

The lack of any computers in more than half the classrooms reported on this survey is a significant hurdle. That hurdle and the difficulty teachers experience in accessing computers and projectors may relate to respondents' stated preference to view media on DVD from a set-top box. As more providers move to provide digital media on demand by letting teachers download and store media, it seems clear that an equal effort must be made to provide more computers and projectors in the mathematics classroom to support teacher’s utilization of motion media.
Are some high school math teachers innately averse to using media for instruction?

The survey presents some mixed messages in response to this question. On the one hand, teachers selected various video content choices from a list of different types of media. They did not shun the video choices. A large majority said that they would use video to show real-life applications of math concepts (85 percent). Only 2 percent reported that they would not use media for instruction. Video was not panned when the respondents reported on how frequently they used different types of media, either. While video was not as popular as a textbook, only 25 percent reported that they never used video. Still, there was concern about the efficacy of using media evident in the short-answer responses as well as concerns about the quality of the content. Teachers are willing to consider the medium, but they hold some skepticism about whether or not they can find resources worth using.

Media developers must concentrate on providing resources that address learning outcomes in a direct way, provide something that the teacher can't already get from their textbooks, and materials that are an efficient use of classroom time. The resources have to be easy to find and use, requiring minimal planning time.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are suggested to media developers:

Focus on developing media that shows a real-life application of specific mathematical concepts. Choose essential math concepts that are found on standardized tests and high school exit exams.
Advocate for more computers in math classrooms so that math teachers can access digital video services on their school network.
Provide media on DVD, even if it is available through digital media services at least until sufficient resources exist to assure that teachers can access materials online using their own computers.
Promote media resources to teachers because they don't have time to search it out on their own. Make it easy for them to find and implement media.

Jo Flick was part of a group of media consultants that conducted a study about math teachers and their utilization of media in 2006 and reported on it this spring. Other members of the Math Media Study Group are: Laura Hunter, Utah Education Network; Marta Bechtol and Kristin Leglar, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board; Sandra Pelham and Alvita Howard, Florida Knowledge Network; and Danny Henley, KERA-TV in Dallas. The study advisory committee reviewed these findings and reported conclusions and implications via conference call on May 3, 2007.