Understanding Middle and High School Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards and Use of Technology

Abstract

While many educators are consistently searching for ways to use technology for teaching and learning as new technologies emerge and older technologies are improved, not all are enthusiastic about the changes (Dobo, 2016). There is a positive correlation between teachers' beliefs about the effectiveness of technology and its use in the classroom (Petko, 2012). Teachers who have positive beliefs about technology tend to use it more in their classrooms. This mixed-method study seeks to answer the question of how do secondary mathematics teachers' use of technology in the classroom reflects their attitudes towards technology and its use. The first sub-question of what are the attitudes of secondary school mathematics teachers towards technology in the classroom as measured by the Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers (TAC) Questionnaire is addressed in the quantitative phase through the questionnaire responses of twenty-eight middle and high school mathematics teachers in a small, rural public school system in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States (Christensen & Knezek, 2009). The second sub-question of how is the technology used in secondary school mathematics classrooms when viewed through the lens of the RAT framework is addressed in the qualitative phase through interviews with eight of the participants from the quantitative phase (Hughes, 2006). The twenty-eight participants' overall attitudes towards technology were positive with the lowest in interaction and absorption and the highest in accommodation and significance. The majority of the uses of technology for the interview participants were coded as instructional methods and amplification, which reflects the participants' positive attitudes towards technology, particularly in accommodation, significance, utility, interest, and perception while the lower percentage of uses coded as student learning processes and transformation could reflect their less positive attitudes with regard to comfort, concern, absorption, and interaction. As teachers' attitudes towards technology improve, the use of technology for student learning processes at the transformational level may also increase.