Action Research 403
Action Research 403
Allison Kocovic
Manhattan College
Interactive Classrooms 2
Abstract
This paper will talk about the use of videos and other ways to create an interactive
mathematics classroom. A teacher incorporating reading and writing in their lesson is a good
way for students to comprehend what they just learned, and they have the skills they need to read
and write in the content area. Videos, graphs, and traditional texts are the main form of texts used
in a mathematics classroom. This paper will mainly focus on videos and interactive applications
to increase student reading and writing comprehension because of the observation done in an
Key Words: technology, videos, interactive classroom, mathematics classroom, texts, engaging
students
Interactive Classrooms 3
Content specialty teachers not only have to teach in their content area, but must also incorporate
reading and writing skills as well. For mathematics, some ways to include reading and writing
comprehension skills is by showing videos, looking a graphs and tables, traditional texts and
more. For my fieldwork hours, I observed four freshman honors geometry classes. My plan was
to incorporate more interactive videos and tools in the classroom in hopes of engaging more
students. Research shows that when technology is used effectively in the classroom, students will
concepts and staying engaged throughout the lesson. Incorporating reading and writing activities
help students with comprehension, and in a mathematics classroom, videos are considered a form
of text. Mathematics can be seen as its own language which is different from the language
students normally acquire from home, because it is so abstract and conceptual compared to other
subjects taught in school (Aflahah, 2018). This is why most students are not interested or
engaged in their mathematics class. One way to engage students in the classroom is the use of
technology. Learning mathematics can be a struggle for some students and the methods that
teachers use in the classroom has a substantial impression on the level of understanding from the
student (Murphy, 2015). Every student comprehends information in a different way, but most
students are visual learners, so incorporating videos and other interactive forms of technology
helps students gain a deeper understanding of the content. Also, there is a large number of
English Language Learners (ELLs) in schools across the country. Research shows that images
and videos support the learning of new content, concepts, and ideas for ELLs (Alber, 2019).
Interactive Classrooms 4
Videos are a great tool to assist students in gaining a deeper understanding of content.
How-to or instructional videos are easily available to students on the internet. Videos under
seven minutes can reinforce what students have learned or are learning. Watching short videos is
a good way to break up the lesson for the students and refresh their mind on what they had just
learned (Alber, 2019). Another type of video used in classrooms are video podcasts. Benefits of
using video podcasts in educational settings include improved learning and study habits, positive
student attitudes toward learning, and increased learning performance. However, the main
advantage of video podcasts is students having the control over when and where they learn, what
they need to learn, and the pace of learning (Kay & Edwards, 2011). One of the most used video
podcasts website that is easily accessible to all students and teachers is Khan Academy
(https://www.khanacademy.org). Khan Academy has videos for all subject areas, ranging from
first grade all through graduate courses. To test this theory of video podcasts, Robin Kay and
Jaime Edwards’ study consisted of 136 middle school students (72 boys, 64 girls) from a small
community located in Ontario, Canada. The results of the study were that the majority of
students, around 79%, believed the video podcasts help them understand problems and concepts
better. 18% of students were confused by some of the steps and needed more clarification, and
60% of all students experienced no confusion. I think this is interesting because more than half
of the students in the class found this helpful to them. This will ultimately lead students to being
engaged in the classroom, and develop better reading and writing skills.
mathematical idea. Though it should include detailed instructions, examples, and having a
teacher monitor and guide students in order to learn how to use manipulatives to create positive
outcomes (Bos, 2009). Virtual manipulatives are supposed to help make abstract content more
Interactive Classrooms 5
understandable for students. Though new content may be confusing to students and require more
instruction from teachers, virtual manipulatives are used as a scaffold. Looking at Table 1, we
can see different types of technology based applications used in the classroom. Towards the
bottom of the table, interactive mathematics are the only technology based applications with a
high cognitive fidelity rate. Cognitive fidelity defines how computer generated objects differ in
their ability to convey mathematical understanding (Bos, 2007). Table 1 shows that the strengths
of interactive mathematics provide a way to see mathematical patterns (Bos, 2009). The only
weakness of this application is that it is difficult to have for every mathematical concept the
TABLE 1:
Interactive Classrooms 6
Another interactive application for students to use and benefit from is the interactive
whiteboard. In this study, thirteen pre-service mathematics teachers examined teaching and
learning activities in their final undergraduate year with a Technological Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (TPCK) (Holmes, 2009). TPCK is defined as a basis of good teaching with
technology and required an understanding of concepts using technology. Meaning, teachers must
be able to use technology in their classroom in a way that can only benefit their students, not be a
disadvantage for them. The study also says that TPCK is a type of pedagogy, incorporating
technology is a technique that some teachers enjoy using. Table 2 shows the schematic view of
TPCK and how all the elements work together. The pre-service teachers first came to the
conclusion that technology is prevalent throughout society, so students will need technological
skills in the future. Current students are using technology in many aspects of their lives so
classrooms and learning should be similar to their everyday lives (Holmes, 2009). Secondly, the
student teachers noted that understanding technology is a tool which can be used to help the
learning process, or if used incorrectly it will interfere with learning. Next, the pre-service
teachers also realized that the distribution of technology must be used correctly. Some students
may not be able to access videos or interactive sites if they do not have a computer at home to
use. The pre-service teachers recorded that some of their cooperating teachers lacked knowledge
in the use of new technologies. A veteran teacher must be able to adapt to new applications and
keep up with the advancement in technology in schools. Lastly, pre-service teachers saw an
overall positive outcome of using interactive whiteboards and technology in the classroom. Their
students gained a deeper understanding of the mathematical content they were learning on that
day (Holmes, 2009). While using the interactive whiteboards, the pre-service teachers saw their
students were more engaged, and will comprehend more of the content they are learning.
Interactive Classrooms 7
TABLE 2:
For my own study, in either a fieldwork classroom or my own future classroom, I would
incorporate videos in my lesson to examine student engagement and achievement. First, I would
include videos or other interactive sites in at least 2-4 lessons during the week. I would focus on
student engagement, comprehension, and their overall achievement. Using videos in the
classroom allows for more efficient processing and memory recall among students. Videos
appeal to students because it allows them to process information in a way that is more natural to
them. Research shows that teachers also benefit from showing students videos in class because it
improves their learning experience. Videos can also be easily shared among students and
teachers, are easy to use, and a good way to have students participate in the classroom. If a video
does not fit in the lesson plan, it can easily be given part of a homework assignment. The website
EdPuzzle (https://www.edpuzzle.com) allows teachers to post videos, or just copy and paste a
link from a website like YouTube. After you put in a video you can stop at certain parts and have
a question that will come up and a space for an answer. The teacher can then send the students a
link from the video they made on EdPuzzle and students must answer the questions that come up
Interactive Classrooms 8
in order to continue the video. Throughout the study I would track how students are
comprehending the content, and survey students to get their opinion about the videos in the
classroom. I would ask the questions (1) Do you like watching short videos in class? (2) Do the
interactive videos for homework help you with other homework assignments? (3) Do you feel
like you understand the material better when watching a video that reinforces what you just
learned? These questions are a good way for a teacher to check for understanding from their
students, and to get feedback about what works best for them. I would also include video
explaining content and give practice problems too. To combine both EdPuzzle and Khan
Academy, I would copy the link from Khan Academy and put it into the EdPuzzle website and
stop the video to ask students to work out the answer, then enter their answer so they could
Like any study, there are parts of the experiment where things can go wrong. While using
technology in the classroom is helpful to both students and teachers, it can also be distracting.
Students could get off topic easily, and also technology does not always work. If a teacher is
using any sort of technology in the classroom and there are difficulties, there should always be a
backup plan to avoid wasting time from student learning. Overall, the studies have found that
using technology and making your classroom an interactive classroom benefits all students.
Keeping students engaged in class and in learning helps with their comprehension.
Interactive Classrooms 9
References:
Alber, R. (2019, March 18). Using Video Content to Amplify Learning. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-video-content-amplify-learning
Bos, B. (2009). Technology with cognitive and mathematical fidelity: What it means for
the math classroom. Computers in the Schools, 26(2), 107-114.
Holmes, K. (2009). Planning to teach with digital tools: Introducing the interactive
whiteboard to pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 25(3).
file:///Users/Ally/Downloads/1139-Article%20Text-3600-1-10-20130731%20(1).pdf
Kay, R., & Edwards, J. (2011, November 30). Examining the Use of Worked Example
Video Podcasts in Middle School Mathematics Classrooms: A Formative Analysis. Retrieved
from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=videos+in+mathematics&id=EJ999216