The study examined classroom instructional practices and teacher's
professed conceptions about teaching and learning college calculus in
relationship to the implementation of scientific-programmable-graphics (SPG)
calculators. The study occurred at a university not affiliated with any reform
project. The participants were not the catalysts seeking to implement calculus
reform, but expressed a willingness to teach the first quarter calculus course with
the SPG calculator. The research design was based on qualitative methods using
comparative case studies of five teachers.
Primary data were collected through pre-school interviews and weekly
classroom observations with subsequent interviews. Teachers' profiles were
established describing general conceptions of teaching calculus, instructional
practices, congruence between conceptions and practice, conceptions about
teaching using SPG calculators, instructional practice with SPG calculators, and
the relationship of conceptions and practice with SPG calculators.
Initially, all the teachers without prior experience using SPG calculators
indicated concern and skepticism about the usefulness of the technology in
teaching calculus and were uncertain how to utilize the calculator in teaching the
calculus concepts. During the study the teachers became less skeptical about the
calculator's usefulness and found it effective for illustrating graphs. Some of the
teachers' exams included more conceptual and graphically-oriented questions,
but were not significantly different from traditional exams.
Findings indicated the college teachers' conceptions of teaching calculus
were generally consistent with their instructional practice when not constrained
by time. The teachers did not perceive a dramatic change in their instructional
practices. Rather, the new graphing approach curriculum and technology were
assimilated into the teachers' normal teaching practices. No major shifts in the
role of the teachers were detected. Two teachers demonstrated slight differences
in their roles when the SPG calculators were used in class. One was a consultant
to the students as they used the SPG calculators; the other became a fellow
learner as the students presented different features on the calculator. Use of the
calculator was influenced by several factors: inexperience with the calculator,
time constraints, setting up the classroom display calculator, preferred teaching
styles and emphasis, and a willingness to risk experimenting with established
teaching practices and habits. / Graduation date: 1996
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34597 |
| Date | 28 July 1995 |
| Creators | Barton, Susan Dale |
| Contributors | Niess, Margaret L. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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