Technology in mathematics education

Sue Pope anticipates MT235 with a perspective on a future that seems far from joined-up

am excited at the prospect of the forthcoming

Mathematics Teaching 235 (July 2013) which
will focus on digital technologies in the
mathematics classroom. When I first joined
ATM, my PGCE tutor was an editor of Micromath
and its existence made it very public that the use
of technology in mathematics education was
something ATM was serious about.
I recall when General Council decided to not
keep technology separate in Micromath but, to
ensure that Mathematics Teaching should present
a range of articles including those related to
technology enhanced learning of mathematics,
and to exploit digital technologies through the use
of associated web based content. I think the
wealth of video and interactive material now
available on the ATM website is testament to the
success of that change.
Despite ATMs on-going commitment to the use
of digital technologies and the growing body of
evidence that it can enhance learning when used
well, how it is used is absolutely crucial, Ofsted
(2008, 2011) regularly reports that students have
little hands-on use of technology. Even though the
use of technology has been explicit in the National
Curriculum and associated guidance material
since its inception in 1988, using technology
continues not to be part of every learners
experience.
The use of calculators has a particularly
disappointing history despite the evidence that
calculators are a valuable tool for learning about
number and arithmetic for example, (Shuard et al
1991, Ruthven 1998), primary children are often
led to believe that using a calculator is cheating,
and that the only way to check their arithmetic
is with a calculator. Of course, if you dont know
how to use a calculator then using one to check
your arithmetic may not be very helpful. After
all, depending on the calculator, 4 + 5 3 might
generate an answer of 27 or 19, when only the
latter is correct if no brackets are present. The
National Curriculum tests at the end of Key Stage
2 have always included a calculator paper. More
recently this paper includes one, two,
or three items that would be intractable without
a calculator as they might involve several
calculations involving large numbers and rounding
(say) and require the use of a calculator with
understanding.

Key Stage 2 National Curriculum test items 2012

Recently the government announced that this

calculator paper is to be abolished, which
means the tests will be a less valid assessment
of the curriculum than in the past. The likely
consequence of this is that primary children will
not have access to calculators at all. However
the use of calculators in the controversial level 6
papers will continue.
As I write there is a government consultation
on a revised curriculum for key stages 1 to 3.
This revised curriculum contains a heartening
statement on numeracy
Teachers should develop pupils numeracy in all
subjects so that they understand and appreciate
the importance of mathematics. Pupils should be
taught to apply arithmetic fluently to problems,
understand and use measures, estimate
when using calculators and other technologies
to produce results, and then interpret them
appropriately. Pupils should apply their geometric
and algebraic understanding, and relate their

Mathematics Teaching 234 Journal of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics

TECHNOLOGY IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

understanding of probability to the notions of risk

and uncertainty. They should also understand
the cyclical process of collecting, presenting and
analysing data. They should be taught to apply
their mathematics to both routine and non-routine
problems, including breaking down more complex
problems into a series of simpler steps.
Yet, in the preamble under a heading of ICT we find:
Calculators should not be used as a substitute
for good written and mental arithmetic. They
should therefore only be introduced near the
end of Key Stage 2 to support pupils conceptual
understanding and exploration of more complex
number problems, if written and mental arithmetic
are secure. In both primary and secondary
schools, teachers should use their judgement
about when ICT tools should be used.
In the draft programmes of study the only
reference to technology at Key Stage 3 is: use
a calculator and other technologies to calculate
results accurately and then interpret them
appropriately. At primary level in the notes and
guidance for Year 2: Pupils should use the
concept and language of angles to describe
turn by applying rotations, including in practical
contexts (e.g. pupils themselves moving in turns,
giving instructions to other pupils to do so, and
programming robots using instructions given in
right angles). And for Year 5: Pupils should use
the term diagonal and make conjectures about the
angles formed by diagonals and sides, and other
properties of quadrilaterals, for example using
dynamic geometry ICT tools.
This is in sharp contrast to the current secondary
curriculum where there are many references to
the use of technology to support the learning
of mathematics. In the key concepts: selecting
appropriate mathematical tools and methods,
including ICT (1.1c). In the key processes:
compare and evaluate representations and
choose between them (2.1b); make connections
in mathematics (2.2a); visualise and work with
dynamic images (2.2c); explore the effects
of varying values and look for invariance and
covariance (2.2f); make accurate mathematical
diagrams, graphs and constructions on paper
and on screen (2.2k); calculate accurately,
selecting mental methods or calculating devices
as appropriate (2.2l); use accurate notation,
including correct syntax when using ICT (2.2n);
look at data to find patterns and exceptions (2.3d)
and use a range of forms to communicate findings
to different audiences (2.4a). In the curriculum
opportunities: become familiar with a range of
resources, including ICT, so that they can select
appropriately (4g). The latter is particularly
poignant. If students are to be empowered to

make decisions around whether or not to use

technology, when to use technology, and which
technology to use, then students need to be both
comfortable with technological tools, and aware of
their potential.
ICT was also prominent in the Rose Review of
the Primary Curriculum discarded by the coalition
government in 2010. In the programme of study
for mathematical understanding, at the early stage
children should use calculators to explore number
patterns, and at the later stages they should use
ICT to represent number patterns as graphs and
using simple formulae; use spreadsheets to model
financial situations; use a calculator efficiently as
one of a range of strategies for calculation; use
ICT to generate instructions for movement and
to generate and explore geometric patterns and
problems. Throughout the primary phase children
should use ICT to store, structure and analyse
data, that has been collected for a purpose,
to explore possible relationships and interpret
findings.
The Becta entitlement documents, reworked in
2009 by the National Strategies and now available
in the STEM e-library, identified six major
opportunities for learners to use ICT in learning
mathematics:
learning from feedback
observing patterns
seeing connections
exploring data;
teaching the computer, and
developing visual imagery
These opportunities may be developed through
a wide range of ICT in the form of standard and
graphing calculators, spreadsheets, interactive
software on CD, or online. There are strong
resonances between these entitlements and the
current secondary curriculum key processes.
Learning from feedback
The computer often provides fast and reliable
feedback which is non-judgemental and impartial.
This can encourage children to make their own
conjectures and to test out and modify their ideas.
Observing patterns
The speed of computers and calculators enables
learners to produce many examples when
exploring mathematical problems. This supports
their observation of patterns and the making and
justifying of generalisations.
Seeing connections
The computer enables formulae, tables of
numbers and graphs to be linked readily.
Changing one representation and seeing changes
in the others helps learners to understand the

May 2013 www.atm.org.uk

TECHNOLOGY IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

connections between them. Working through

a medium which enables learners to switch
effortlessly between these representations
enhances their conceptual development.
Exploring data
Computers enable learners to work with real data
which can be represented in a variety of ways.
This supports interpretation and analysis.
Teaching the computer
When learners design an algorithm (a set of
instructions) to make a computer achieve a
particular result, they have to express their
commands unambiguously and in the correct
order. They are beginning to model particular
behaviours or develop a set of rules. This
engagement with a formal system sets up the
opportunity for developing a mathematical habit of
mind, to develop their skills of algebraic thinking.
Teaching the computer encourages learners
to formalise their mathematical thinking, define
conditions, sequence actions and express their
ideas clearly. When the computer carries out the
instructions it has been given, learners need to
observe the effect, and if necessary refine and
improve the procedure they taught the computer.
Developing visual imagery
Using a computer enables learners to manipulate
diagrams dynamically. This not only supports
learning by producing actual diagrams and
graphs, it also encourages learners to predict
the results and to visualise the geometry as they
generate their own mental images. The facility
to generate many examples also helps learners
to notice what changes, and what remains the
same and enables them to formulate and test
their conjectures.
In the future the use of technology in everyday
life is only likely to increase, and yet the proposed
curriculum ignores the ways in which technology
can support the development of conceptual
understanding and reasoning through genuine
exploration of mathematical problems.
The recent JMC report on digital technologies
(2011) stated
Einstein famously said that his pencil was more
intelligent than he was - meaning, that he could
achieve far more using his pencil as an aid to
thinking than he could unaided. There is a need to
recognise that mathematical digital technologies
are the pencils of today and that we will only
fully exploit the benefits of digital technologies in
teaching, learning and doing mathematics when
it becomes unthinkable for a student to solve a
complex mathematical problem without ready
access to digital technological tools.
At the same time that the government is removing

reference to technology in the mathematics

curriculum, it has proposed an ambitious
programme of study for computing which equips
pupils to apply information technology to create
products and solutions. It states:
A computing education also ensures that pupils
become digitally literate - able to use, and
express themselves through, information and
communication technology - at a level suitable for
the future workplace and as active participants in
a digital world.
It is unclear how separating computing from the
rest of the curriculum is likely to achieve this.
One of the aims for computing is: all pupils
are responsible, competent, confident and
creative users of information and communication
technology.
The programme of study for computing is
incompatible with the mathematics curriculum.
In the latter, algebra is mentioned in Year 6, yet
in key stage 1 the expectation is that children
understand what algorithms are, and can write
and test simple programs. In key stage 2 pupils
are expected to use sequence, selection, and
repetition in programs and work with variables
and various forms of input and output. There is
virtually no statistics in the primary mathematics
programme of study, but in computing children are
expected to select, use and combine a variety of
software (including internet services) on a range
of digital devices to accomplish given goals,
including collecting, analysing, evaluating and
presenting data and information.
I hope that whatever the curriculum and its
associated assessment, more teachers will choose
to use technology to support students learning,
and will find Mathematics Teaching to
be a valuable source of inspiration, and
a professional forum in which to share
their classroom experiences.
Sue Pope works at Manchester University
Sue is Chair of GC, but writes here in a personal capacity.
References
JMC (2011) Digital technologies and mathematics
education
Becta (2009) Secondary Mathematics with ICT: A pupils
entitlement to ICT in secondary mathematics
Becta (2009) Primary Mathematics with ICT: A pupils
entitlement to ICT in primary mathematics
Ruthven, K. (1998). The use of mental, written and
calculator strategies of numerical computation by
upper-primary pupils within a calculator-aware
number curriculum. British Educational Research
Journal, 24(1), 21-42.
Shuard, H., Walsh, A., Goodwin, J. & Worcester,
V. (1991). Calculators, Children and Mathematics.
London UK: Simon & Schuster.

Mathematics Teaching 234 Journal of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics

Copyright of Mathematics Teaching is the property of Association of Teachers of Mathematics and its content
may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express
written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.