Effective Integration of Dynamic Representations and Collaboration to Enhance Mathematics and Science Learning

The vision to transform school education through the use of information and communication technologies has existed for more than two decades. Successful models of small-scale implementation of that vision in a few classrooms or schools have been evident for almost as long, but few of them have achieved widespread success. The trajectory of most learning technology innovations starts with an exciting vision of transformative potential, peaks with a demonstration in a few model sites, and then, sadly … nothing. Given the failure rate, it makes a lot of sense to pay attention to innovations that achieve widespread positive results. What can we learn? I examine two technologies that have been effectively integrated into schools, achieved impressive scale and produced large learning gains and transformations in pedagogical practice. The first is the graphing calculator. Graphing tools have been integrated into middle and high school classrooms in many states and countries, including Australia. In the United States, at least half of all high school students have and use a graphing calculator. The results of America's National Assessment of Educational Progress as well as sophisticated analyses of multiple research studies show the strong positive impact of graphing calculators on learning, particularly in engaging students in learning advanced mathematical concepts. The second technology is that of handheld collaboration tools, which are being rapidly adopted worldwide, across multiple subjects and grade levels. These tools span a range from very simple 'clickers' (a device similar to a remote control that allows students to 'vote' on the best answer and allows teachers to aggregate student responses) to wireless handhelds, such as Palm or PocketPCs, which can be used to organise students according to successful patterns of collaborative learning. Such tools build on what we know about how people learn, including research on the effectiveness of peer learning and formative assessment. Teachers who use the innovations repeatedly describe a transformed classroom experience. I suggest a few key factors underlying the classroom success of both technologies. Obviously, they are relatively simple, robust and cheap (and also remarkably free from techno-speak buzzwords). More importantly, in each case there is a deep scientific linkage between the capabilities of the technology and how people learn. Without these two factors, there is no point in pursuing effective integration. I emphasise two further, less obvious factors. In both cases, the adoption of these innovations has been led by practising teachers, who function as the …