Pre-Service Secondary Teachers?Integration of Information Technology Applications Into the Mathematics Classroom

Abstract

To tap the enormous potential of information technology (IT) in teaching and learning, many countries have invested considerable amounts of resources to integrate IT in the classroom. Singapore, for instance, had invested S$2 billion between 1997 to 2002 to facilitate integration of IT in schools. In support of this effort, pre-service teacher training at the National Institute of Education, the only teacher training institution in Singapore, has been designed to reflect the emphasis on the use of IT in teaching. This study therefore set out to find out if pre-service teachers are integrating IT into the mathematics classroom during a nine-week practicum (school attachment) after completing a seven-month coursework component of a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme. The study primarily examined the use of IT in teaching mathematics by a group of trainee teachers during the practicum: What IT tools were used; how and why these tools were used. Factors affecting the use of IT tools during the practicum were also investigated.