Conceptualizing the Teacher’s Role in Supporting Students’ Mathematical Learning in Computer-Directed Learning Environments

• In Event: Research on Issues in Teacher Education and Teacher Practice

Abstract

In this paper, we suggest a different conceptualization of the teacher’s role in supporting students’ mathematical learning in a cognitive tutor or computer-directed learning environment. The CT program examined in this study aimed to enhance students’ learning of proportional reasoning through an engaging engineering/robotics context. Students (n = 41) of teachers who assumed an active role in engaging students in mathematical conversations away from the cognitive tutor exhibited significant learning gains, where students (n = 111) in settings using the cognitive tutor as designed (with minimal interaction from the teacher) did not exhibit learning gains. This research has implications for reconsidering the teachers’ role in cognitive tutor or computer-directed learning environments (e.g., digital textbooks, curriculum supplements, or test-preparation) more generally.

Authors

• Melissa D. Boston, Duquesne University

• Aaron Kessler, University of Pittsburgh

• Mary Kay Stein, University of Pittsburgh