Development of the Framework for Effective Mathematics Teaching and Learning using the Interactive Whiteboard

Development of the Framework for Effective Mathematics Teaching and Learning Using the Interactive Whiteboard

The earliest research on IWB use was summarized by Higgins, Beauchamp and Miller (2007), as small scale with an emphasis on teacher testimony and action-research-based approaches. Benefits of IWB use identified through these early studies were ease of use for whole class teaching (Stephens, 2000) including dynamic visual demonstrations (Kennewell & Beauchamp, 2003) and the integrated use of a range of multimedia resources (Ekhami, 2002).

In subsequent years, as the IWB was established in classrooms, researchers began to examine teacher development associated with IWB use. A variety of models began to emerge with a focus on interactivity (see Davison & Pratt, 2003). These models are often in the form of a continuum from least effective to most effective teaching practices using the IWB. Although the research to date reports positive gains in student engagement and teacher motivation, there is little clear evidence on how IWB use enhances classroom discourse, effective teaching strategies, or increases student achievement (Higgins, Beauchamp, Miller, 2007). The shift to empirical research is recent and mostly uncharted (see Glover, Miller, Averis, & Door 2007). Our study furthers research on IWB technology, in the context of lesson study in mathematics, by examining purposeful teacher use of the IWB and students’ functional beliefs about learning mathematics.  Our research questions about IWB use are: How do teachers use IWBs in mathematics classrooms to enhance teaching and learning strategies? What is the impact of using IWBs on student attitudes toward learning mathematics?

One important research outcome has been the development of a practice-grounded Framework for Effective Mathematics Teaching and Learning using the Interactive Whiteboard. The researchers developed a framework to describe IWB use in math classrooms based on preliminary observations. This framework consisted of five essential stages of a sequential continuum. Researchers theorized that as the teachers began to feel more comfortable using the IWB, the types of use would progress along the continuum. Types of use identified included:

1. Non-dynamic demonstration (the screen acting as a static screen for visual support with limited interactivity);
2. Dynamic demonstration (the screen acting as a computer screen with interactivity demonstrated by the teacher);
3. Student practice (repeating what the teacher had demonstrated);
4. Student investigation (investigating mathematical ideas with the use of the IWB);
5. Facilitating discourse (teacher using the IWB with students to facilitate math communication).

This continuum approach concurs with the work of Glover, Miller, Averis & Door (2007). However, our research team quickly realized that our theoretical framework was not working, even though it was grounded in observations of classroom teachers using the IWBs. In fact, the researchers found that teachers were not static in their IWB use but moved through the types of use within a single lesson. Immediate context became a determining factor; the IWB was used in multiple ways based on the needs and purposes of the teaching and learning moment. At this point, the framework moved away from a continuum paradigm and re-shaped itself into a description of the types of IWB use in the context of specific mathematics lessons. It should be noted that the researchers were professionally excited by this revision because it moved the framework away from a deficit model, where one end of the continuum represented “better” or more sophisticated teaching than the other, to a description of types of use for various purposes.

An electronic version of the framework is being launched at this website for wider use. The framework on this website includes links to video, lesson plans and Notebook files that provide explicit examples of IWB use.

The IWB framework may prove useful for teachers in extending their repertoire of uses and familiarizing themselves with types of IWB use in mathematics classrooms.
The framework can be used to focus attention on more challenging ways to use the IWB.
The framework could be useful to administrators and educational researchers interested in understanding how IWBs are being used as a tool in the classroom.