Computer Assisted Instruction for Mathematics - An Exploratory Study of a New Conceptual Framework An Exploratory Study of a New Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Integrating CAI into the math curriculum is a complex issue. Computers change the way teachers teach and the way students learn. The learning process is heavily impacted by a combination of factors; for example, learners' attitudes towards math and computers, learners' computer skills, learners' confidence level in learning math and computers, learners' learning styles, the quality and the suitability of the computer learning system, and the way the instructor interacts with the student. This study attempts to explore the Guam students' math learning experiences via CAI interactive learning system. The island of Guam is a U.S. unincorporated territory in the Western Pacific Rim. With 85% to 90% of the college students here forced to take remedial math, clearly, students in this region are mathematically challenged. To counter this problem, the Guam Community College introduced interactive multimedia computer-based instructional software into their math courses. This study investigates the following questions: (1) What are the students' specific evaluations of this particular computer interactive learning system? (2) What are the students' general perceptions of a computerized math learning environment? (3) What are the factors that might affect Guam students' math learning experiences via the computer learning system. To answer the first question, this interactive math learning system is evaluated in terms of content presentation, accuracy of error diagnosis, suitability of multimedia features, computer screen design, and ease of use. For the second question, the students' perceptions are sought in the areas of how CAI changes the learner's role, the interaction between the instructor and the learner, the interaction among the learners, and whether CAI should be integrated into the math course. Thirdly, the factors investigated in this study include (1) math confidence, (2) math motivation; (3) computer confidence; (4) computer motivation; (5) math learning styles; (6) math-computer interaction; (7) computer math learning environment; (8) evaluation of this CAI math learning system. The primary instrument for this study was a modified survey questionnaire that adapted the Mathematics-Computing Attitude Scales of Peter Galbraith and Christopher Haines (2000). In order to gain a fuller insight into the students learning process, the data for this study were also drawn from other sources: (1) student interview; (2) faculty interview; (3) classroom observation; (4) documentation such as student drop-out rate and grades.