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Keeping Classroom Technology Collaborative

Tips for using the mathematical practices from a math coach

October 2017
Headshot of a woman By Melinda Villalovos, Arizona K-8 math coach
lisagagne/istock/Getty

Using the mathematical practices with tech can help take learning to higher levels.

With the school year well under way, you’re probably thinking about how to incorporate technology into your math lessons. It’s certainly been on my mind!

As a K-8 math coach, I work with hundreds of teachers in my district to make sure they’re using technology effectively. This means not only for individualized instruction but also in a collaborative manner that encourages conceptual understanding.

When I work with math teachers I always ask myself: How can I help move teachers forward using the eight Mathematical Practices while also helping them embed technology into their instruction?

Math lesson or isolated activity?

We are seeing many teachers choosing to embed technology into their math lessons. This happens most often with a math website, where students solve a certain level of problems to move onto the next level of problems. Some sites include the conceptual understanding and some do not.

Most of the time, the instruction is individualized, with very little interaction or collaboration between students using the technology. When I was at the NCSM conference last spring, I realized this is not only an issue in our state but throughout the country.

Use technology for group collaboration and conceptual understanding

I always remind teachers that if learning is individualized during whole-group instruction (tier 1), you’re not incorporating the 8 Mathematical Practices that are essential to every lesson. These practices take learning to higher levels with collaboration, debate, and justification.

Here are some ways we use incorporate the practices and tech into elementary math lessons at my district:

1. Partner solve, compare, analyze, and/or question with technology

Have two students partner up. Give one partner a device (such as an iPad) and the other manipulatives. Then assign the same problem to solve. One partner will use the technology with a whiteboard app and virtual manipulatives, while the other will solve with a concrete manipulative, whiteboard, and marker. (It’s OK if the concrete manipulative is different from the manipulative on the device.)

Give them time to solve. After, have them compare and analyze each other’s work and question each other’s strategy.

Repeat this with another problem but have the partners switch roles.

2. Partner video feedback

Have students use an app to record their solving processes and check their work. Some apps we use include Pix Clip, Show Me, and ScreenChomp. Some are free and some require a small fee.

Then, have the student share their recording with a partner. The partner can provide focused feedback, that the student can use revise their solving strategy and the video to improve understanding.

To help students understand the expectations of creating a math video, use a rubric. I really liked Pamela Buffington’s idea I learned about at NCSM. Buffington is from the Educational Development Center in Gardiner, Maine:

Do you have other ideas for using the mathematical practices with classroom technology? If so, please email them to us!

Want more elementary math education tips and news? Check out Scholastic's archive.

Melinda Villalovos (@MmVillalovos) works on DynaMath and is currently the District Math Coach for Deer Valley Unified School District in Arizona.

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