The Difficulties Facing Technology Integration into Mathematics Education in Lebanon

1. The Difficulties Facing Technology Integration into Mathematics Education in Lebanon Maha Baassiri El Hariri Learning Technologies and Mathematics Middle East Conference Oman -2007

2. What is one of roles of the math education community? • prepare students for the work place • provide them with the necessary expertise to effectively use the different technologies in work

3. Why Math Education in Lebanon Has not Fully Benefited from the Surrounding Technological Environment? • Access to technology • Lebanese mathematics curriculum • Teachers' qualifications, beliefs and professional development

4. What Type of Technology Will be Referred to in This Presentation? • Technology associated with computers • Any other type of technology will be specified.

5. Access to Technology One of the main reasons that prevent technology integration in Lebanon are financial matters

6. Lebanese Mathematics Curriculum (LMC) • first reform after the war was in 1997 • No clear calls in the curriculum to integrate technology • No recent updates of the LMC that is still dominated by abstract concepts, symbols and algebraic expressions

7. What are the few private schools that have access to technology doing with the curriculum? Ministry of Education has the control over the structure and the content of the curriculum and over the official exams Such schools are still unable to modify the instructional objectives

8. Teachers' Qualifications, Beliefs and Professional Development “Technology can improve teaching and learning, but just having technology doesn’t automatically translate to better instructional outcomes" (SIIA 2000).

9. Teachers are the key to any successful reform in mathematics((Kaput 1992, NCTM 1989, 2000 To implement technology in teaching mathematics, teachers should have a mastery of : • the mathematics content, • the pedagogical skills and • the technology used.

10. main problems facing teacher professional development • financial problems, • time constraints, • teachers’ own beliefs about technology integration in math education and • the type of workshops designed for technology integration in math teaching.

11. How to Integrate Technology In the LMC • Technology integration in the LMC should not be an aim , but a tool to improve the curriculum • Provision of an easy access to technology and associated resources • Curriculum reform • Teachers' Development

12. Conclusion • "Education technology is neither inherently effective nor inherently ineffective; instead, its degree of effectiveness depends upon the congruence among the goals of instruction, characteristics of the learners, design of the software, and educator training and decision-making, among other factors" ( Schneider M., SIIA, 2000)

13. ThanksMaha El Hariri

16. Partition of Lebanese Schools (CERD 2006)

17. Tuition Fees • Private Schools :$300 to $10000 • Public Schools: $ 70

18. Consequences • Many private schools can afford technology integration • Not all public schools have computers due to the difficult economical situation • Ministry of Education has distributed 8000 computers over public schools last year

19. Where Is the Use of The Graphic Calculators Recommended in the LMC? • In grade 11 for controlling the graph of the representative curve of a function (CERD 1997 p. 251) • In grade 12 to help students visualize the parametric curves (CERD 1997 p.122) These two recommendations were not applied because graphic calculators are too expensive for many students to buy

20. The different representations of concepts and especially the graphical ones are considered as principal goals of the curriculum and not as tools that facilitate learning as it is the case with the graphical representations of functions (CERD 1997, p.195)

21. The tedious numerical calculations that can be performed by any scientific calculator are a part of the curriculum such as the calculations of measures of dispersion and central tendency

22. Not all the private schools support financially their teachers’ professional development • The Ministry of Education organizes free workshops for teachers in the public sector that range from teaching the teachers the basics needed for using the computer to developing a project based learning using computers • Teachers don’t have the chance to practice what they learn in workshops because software are not available at their schools

23. Time Constraint • official exams (cover large content in a period shorter than the usual academic year) • Almost all teachers have a full teaching load • Technology is time consuming for those who have weak skills in using computers and software • Most workshops take place in the afternoon and in Beirut

24. Many teachers don’t believe in the effect of technology on students’ learning • their education about technology, • to their proficiency in applying technology • the way they have learned math

25. Not all the teachers that teach mathematics are considered convenient (holds a university degree in the domain of mathematics or has graduated from faculty of education to teach math) (The Strategic Educational Document CERD 2006)

29. Proficiency in Using Technology The results of a study by Arouni (Arouni 2005) on 100 mathematics teachers that hold a B.S. or a higher degree in mathematics showed that lack of training is one of the causes that prevent these teachers from learning about new technologies and integrating them into their teaching.

30. Types of Workshops • Teach about the technology • Few workshops addressing a special audience teach about the applications of technology in math education

31. Curriculum Reform • Less attention to procedural and algorithmic skills and tedious calculations • More emphasis on deep conceptual understanding • Development of mathematical tasks can be shaped according to the following guide lines:

32. Guidelines • introduce technology in context • address worthwhile mathematics with appropriate pedagogy • take advantage of technology • connect mathematics topics • Incorporate multiple representations. ( Garofalo, Shockey, Harper, & Drier, 1999) .

33. Teacher Development • Changing Lebanese mathematics teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards technology • teacher training to use technology

34. Change in Teachers’ Beliefs • teachers must have opportunities to reflect on their own beliefs (Borko & Putnam, 1995, 1996; Bransford & Schwartz, 1999), • teachers must experience the value of technology integration in math teaching by having an access to others practices and beliefs that are reflective of their subject and grade level, and observe the positive impact these practices have on students’ learning (Richardson & Placier, 2001; Sandholtz, Ringstaff, & Dwyer, 1997)

35. Teacher Training • Teachers must have confidence in their abilities while using technology in class. • A priority in teacher training is the connections between subject matter and pedagogical content, and the emphasis on learning about technology in the context of subject matter and pedagogy (Hughes,J., 2004 )

36. NCTM Recommendations Mathematics teachers must develop and maintain the mathematical and pedagogical knowledge they need to teach their students well. One way to do this is to collaborate with their colleagues and to create their own learning opportunities where none exist. They should also seek out high-quality professional development opportunities that fit their learning needs. By pursuing sources of information, building communities of colleagues, and participating in professional development, teachers can continue to grow as professionals. (NCTM ,2000, p. 373)