At the high school level, math is unavoidable, yet it among the subjects that students struggle with the most. Among the avenues for making the process of learning math, easier is incorporating information technology into the teaching process. The current level of proliferation if IT, which includes access to computerized devices and the internet, is a bearing factor in the incorporation of IT in pedagogy. However, there is a right and wrong way of applying IT into learning, more so when it comes to math. First, there is a need for a high level of teacher proficiency regarding both IT and math, to enable effective incorporation. Secondly, IT should aid students in the process of learning math, and not replace the process of learning itself. IT should enable students to foster deep mathematical thinking, while contemporaneously making math interesting and fun. Teacher skill is fundamental to enable the constructive incorporation of IT into the high school math instructional process and curriculum.
The process of incorporating IT into the high school math instructional process and curriculum begins with a high level of skill for the teacher. For a start, the teacher needs a high level of computer proficiency and an understanding of how much IT skills that students need in order to learn math using computerized devices. Training of the use of IT devices should precede using those devices to teach math. Secondly, the teacher should understand the scope of the math curriculum itself. Finally, the teacher needs to understand the best practices necessary for using IT to teach math. The three simple steps above will get the class ready to commence an IT enables math lesson.
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The second important component of incorporation of IT into the high school math instructional process and curriculum the elimination of unhealthy components of IT in math pedagogy. Modern IT is mainly commercialized, with some developers focusing on what students want as opposed to what they need to learn math effectively. For example, some math-learning app does all the work for students, which reduces the propensity for learning. Other apps encourage the memorization of formulas and steps for use in solving mathematical problems. These apps limit the ability of students to learn math which still enabling them to pass tests. The teacher should be able to vet the kinds of apps that students use in maths lessons.
Among the most important roles of IT in a math classroom is making the lesson interesting and encouraging deep mathematical thinking. Normally, math students should undergo a healthy struggle to solve mathematical problems. IT should not replace this struggle but it can make it interesting. For example, computerized components such as geoboards and number lines can enable students to overcome the areas of math that bog them down with rigorous steps in the process of solving mathematical problems. Students can also use computer programs to develop interesting and interactive mathematical problems that they will enjoy trying to solve. The general idea is for IT to assist the student, not replace the learning process. In an ideal scenario, the student should still be able to solve mathematical problems, even when the IT component is absent.
Based on the analysis above, IT can be an important addition to a high school math lesson, but it should not replace the process of learning. The ordinary modern high school classroom has such as high penetration of IT that the teacher needs to weed out unhealthy applications in learning. The initial key in incorporating IT into the high school math instructional process and curriculum is teacher skill. The teacher should have a good understanding of useful technology and the ability to separate unhealthy apps. IT should play a supportive role in the learning of math as opposed to replacing the process of learning.
