ICT USE IN THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS: IMPLICATIONS
FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN GHANA
Douglas
D. Agyei & Joke Voogt
Published online: 17 August 2010
# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access
at Springerlink.com
ABSTRACT
Abstract Included in the contemporary mathematics curricula in
Ghana is the expectation that mathematics teachers will integrate technology in
their teaching.
However, importance has not been placed on preparing teachers to
use ICT in their instruction. This paper reports on a study conducted to explore
the feasibility of ICT use in mathematics teaching at senior high school levels
in Ghana. Interviews and survey data were used for data collection. Preliminary
results showed that mathematics teachers in Ghana do not integrate ICT in their
mathematics instruction. Among the major perceived barriers identified were:
Lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT in lesson and Lack of training
opportunities for ICT integration knowledge acquisition. To overcome some of
these barriers, opportunities of a professional development arrangement for
pre-service mathematics teachers were explored. Findings from study revealed
specific features of a professional development scenario that matters for ICT
integration in mathematics teaching in the context of Ghana.
Keywords
·
ICT use.
·
Professional
development.
·
Computer competencies.
·
Mathematics education.
·
Computer
attitude.
·
Ghana
1 Introduction
In Ghana, mathematics is a compulsory subject at all levels in
pre-university
education. Due to its importance the government is committed to
ensuring the
provision of high quality mathematics education. Various
attempts have been made
Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–439
DOI 10.1007/s10639-010-9141-9
D. D. Agyei (*)
School of Physical Sciences, Department of Mathematics &
Statistics, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana e-mail: d.d.agyei@utwente.nl
J. Voogt Department of Curriculum Design and Educational
Innovation,
University of Twente,
P.O. Box 217,
7500AE Enschede,
The Netherlands
in the past to improve the achievement of mathematics in
schools. The most recent is seen in the New Educational Reforms (Anamuah-Mensah
National Education
Review Committee Report 2002) of which
implementation started in September,
2007. The new curriculum in Mathematics at the Senior High
School (SHS) places
emphases on skill acquisition, creativity and the arts of
enquiry and problem solving. It aims at developing in the student the ability
and willingness to perform investigations using various mathematical ideas and
operations. As part of the reforms the curriculum places a lot of emphasis on
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool for teaching mathematics
(MOESS 2007). It is therefore, designed to meet expected standards of
mathematics in many parts of the world. In spite of government efforts,
mathematics has not undergone much change in terms of how it is presented.
These reflect consistently in low achievement levels in mathematics among
students at the high school levels. Results from the Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2003 and 2007 at the junior high
school level (grade 8 equivalents) are instances of poor mathematics achievement
in the country. In the aforementioned study, Ghana’s eighth graders were ranked
43rd among 44th and 46th among 47 countries that participated in the study in
2003 and 2007 respectively (Mullis et al. 2004, 2008). The situation is
not too different in SHS’s. For many years the failure rate in mathematics has
been dramatically high in SHS’s. The low scores of students’ over the years in
the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination attest to this (Ottevanger
et al. 2007). In Ghana not many studies have been conducted to explain such
poor students’ performance in mathematics. Ampiah et al. (2004) reported that both
pre-service and in-service programmes in mathematics predominantly reflect
teacher-centered approaches to learning. Curriculum documents in this context
suggest that teachers should start every lesson with a practical problem to help
students acquire the habit of analytical thinking and the ability to apply
knowledge in solving practical problems (MOE 2000) and also make use
of the calculator and the computer for problem solving and investigations of
real life situations (MOESS 2007), but this orientation to teaching and learning requires more
than recommendations contained in syllabuses. More particularly the report on
Developing Science, Mathematic and ICT (SMICT) education in Sub Saharan Africa
suggested changes to the teacher’s instructional role from presenter of
knowledge and the use of drill-oriented methods to participatory teaching and
learning (Ottevanger et al. 2007). On a much broader note, research conducted in other
Sub-Saharan Africa highlights some of the factors responsible for poor
students’ achievement in mathematics: poorly-resourced schools; large classes;
a curriculum hardly relevant to the daily lives of students; a lack of
qualified teachers; and inadequate teacher education programmes
(Ottevanger et al. 2007).
The government of Ghana recognizes the need for teachersupport
for mathematics teachers in various ways. He considers ICT literacy as an engine
for accelerated development outlined in the Ghana Information and Communication
Technology for Accelerated development (Ghana ICT4AD Policy document 2003). Ghana introduced
ICT into the school curriculum in September 2007 following the recommendations
of the ICT4AD document and the Anamuah- Mensah National Education Review
Committee Report (2002). Both documents highlight the importance of integrating ICT
into the curriculum at all levels. As a result, the government and other
institutions have invested huge sums of money in
424 Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–439 procurements of computers
and establishment of computer labs in most SHS’s, but it is still unclear
whether these computers are being used effectively by teachers in their
instruction. Thus the question of whether mathematics teachers need any further
support to be able to integrate effectively the use of ICT in their daily teaching
routines remains unanswered. The overall goal of the present study was to explore
the feasibility of ICT use in mathematics classrooms in Ghana as part of an
ongoing research project to design a professional development programme for
pre-service teachers. The relevance of this study was to (1) provide an understanding
of the context of mathematics teachers in the SHS’s in Ghana regarding ICT
integration in mathematics lessons and (2) determine the features of an ICT
intervention that fits the realities in the SHS’s that can prepare pre-service
teachers to effectively design and implement ICT in teaching mathematics. The
study was guided by the following questions:
1. What are the barriers of ICT use in teaching mathematics in
SHS’s in Ghana?
2. What are the needs of pre-service and in-service mathematics
teachers in teaching mathematics with ICT in SHS’s in Ghana?
3. What are the opportunities of ICT use in the teaching of
mathematics in SHS’s in Ghana?
1.1 Teacher preparation programmes for teaching mathematics in
the Senior High
School The SHS mathematics curriculum in Ghana focuses on
attaining one crucial goal: to enable all Ghanaian young persons to acquire the
mathematical skills, insights, attitudes and values that they will need to be
successful in their chosen careers and daily lives (MOESS 2007). This curriculum is
based on the premises that all students can learn mathematics and that all need
to learn mathematics. It builds on the knowledge and competencies developed at
the Junior High School level, placing a lot of emphases on the development and
use of basic mathematical knowledge and skills. The student is expected at the
SHS level to develop the required mathematical competencies to be able to use
his/her knowledge in solving real life problems and secondly, be well equipped
to enter into further study and associated vocations in mathematics, science,
commerce, industry and a variety of other professions (MOESS 2007). The rationale of
the curriculum has therefore a lot of implications on teaching strategies and
the training of mathematics teachers for SHS’s. In Ghana Mathematics Teacher
education for Senior High Schools is offered by two main institutions, the
University of Cape Coast (UCC) and University of Education, Winneba (UEW). These two universities are institutes
for higher education that have the specific task to train teachers for the
SHS’s. The main route in the teacher education at both UCC and UEW is the
Bachelor of Education qualification of 4 years duration. Three main components
are present in these programmes: subject content courses, education courses and
teaching practice. The education courses are further sub-divided into general
ones and subject-specific ones (i.e. for individual school subjects, or
categories of subjects like science). The latter are taught in the science and
mathematics education departments and denoted as science or mathematics
pedagogy courses. The general education courses are taught in other education
departments, mostly Education Foundations. Similarly for teaching Educ Inf
Technol (2011) 16:423–439 425
practice placement in schools, the organization is done by a
general education department for all students from various subjects. A major
difference between the two universities lies in the fact that most content in UCC
is taught by the Faculty of Science, whilst at UEW this takes place in the Faculty
of Science Education. The mathematics content courses (which cover the SHS curricula)
at the first and second year undergraduate level are the main basis for teacher
education students, but some further content courses at the third and fourth
year levels are also in the programme. Two main problems can be distinguished
that put the quality of the programmes under pressure; reduced opportunities
for interaction between lecturers and individual students (as a result of fast
expansion of student numbers in universities) and lack of practical
orientation. The later has roots in the educational tradition of the Ghana
education system which emphasizes teacher-centred exposition as a main educational
method (Adu-Gyamfi and Smit 2007).
1.2 Potential of ICT for mathematics education
The use of ICT in the mathematics classroom has long been a
topic for consideration by mathematics educators. Some examples of ICT use in
mathematics include: portables, graphic calculators and computerized graphing,
specialized software, programmable toys or floor robots, spreadsheets and
databases. Studies have shown that a range of portable devices exists which allow
pupils to collect data, and manipulate it using spreadsheets and databases for work
in numeracy. Some portable equipment also enables the study of maths to move
out of the classroom and to incorporate fieldwork investigations (Moseley and
Higgins 1999).The use of graphic calculators and computerized graphing in
mathematics speeds up the graphing process, freeing people to analyse and
reflect on the relationships between data (Hennessy 2000; Clements 2000; Hennessy et al. 2001). Specialists
software such as Computer Algebra Systems (CAS), Dynamic Geometry Systems (DGS)
and Maths curriculum software improve pupils’ skills and understanding in
algebra, allow pupils to manipulate and measure shapes leading to higher level
of learning among them (Hennessy et al. 2001; Clements 2000). Programmable toys
or floor robots controlled by instructions in programming languages (usually
Logo) were one of the earliest applications of ICT to maths, and where used
were the cause of significant changes in maths teaching (Becta 2003). Logo encourages
pupils to develop problem-solving skills, leads them to develop higher levels
of mathematical thinking
as well as learn geometric concepts (Clements 2000). According to
Ittigson and
Zewe (2003) ICT supports constructivist pedagogy, which allows students
explore
and reach an understanding of mathematical concepts. This
approach promotes
higher order thinking and better problem solving strategies
(Ittigson and Zewe
2003). Becta (2003) reiterated that
teachers can maximize the impact of ICT in
maths teaching by using ICT as a tool in working towards
learning objectives. For mathematics educators, defining the most effective
uses of ICT in the teaching of
mathematics can certainly be described as a “wicked problem,” as
represented by Mishra and Koehler (2006). A number of challenging instructional questions are
associated within this wicked problem, such as: When should
teachers incorporate calculators when teaching arithmetic? How should teachers
incorporate the powerful new symbolic programs within basic algebra instruction?
Should teachers allow 426 Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–439 student
use of the many new online homework assistance web sites for mathematics? Such instructional questions illustrate that the
problem of effective ICT integration
into
the teaching of mathematics is a complex innovation for teachers. They do not
only
need to have competent knowledge of teaching mathematics but also need to be competent
in the pedagogical use of ICT (AACTE 2008; Voogt 2008).
1.3
Factors inhibiting ICT use in
mathematics classrooms
Many
studies have shown several obstacles that teachers experience in the integration
of ICT in their classrooms. Jones (2004) found a number of barriers for the
integration of ICT into lessons:
·
lack of confidence
among teachers during integration, (2) lack of access to resources,
·
(3) Lack of time for the integration,
·
(4) Lack of effective
training,
·
(5) Facing technical
problems while the software is in use, (6) lack of personal access during
lesson preparation and (7) the age of the teachers. Snoeyink and Ertmer (2002)
have identified these or similar variations as widespread barriers: lack of
computers, lack of quality software, lack of time, technical problems, teacher
attitudes towards computers, poor funding, lack of teacher confidence,
resistance to change, poor administrative support, lack of computer skill, poor
fit with curriculum, scheduling difficulties, poor training opportunities, and
lack of vision as to how to integrate ICT in instruction.
A study (Agyei and Voogt, submitted) conducted in
Ghana among pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers explored the
influence of computer attitudes, competencies and access of the teachers on
their levels of ICT integration using the will, skill and tool concept. The
study reported low levels of ICT integration levels as a result of low competencies
and access levels of ICT. Furthermore, the study showed fairly high levels of
positive computer attitudes and indicated among others to be a necessary condition
to prepare teachers for new teaching methods which are flexible and involve
appropriate use of ICT. Of equal importance to ICT integration is teacher preparation
programmes. Research have shown that such programmes have not adequately
modelled the use of technology in their method courses (Adamy and Boulmetis 2006)
or incorporated effective approaches to technology integration into a single
technology courses (Brown and Warschauer 2006).
2
Method
2.1
Participants
A
total of 180 educators constituting of 60 in-service mathematics teachers and
120 pre-service mathematics teachers participated in the study. Mathematics
teachers were used in the study because the mathematics curriculum in
particular emphasizes the use of ICT in the teaching and learning process. The
practicing teachers were selected from 16 Senior High Schools (SHS) ranging
from government, mission, private and international schools. Schools were
selected because they had a reasonable number of mathematics teachers as well
as some kind of ICT infrastructure. The average age of these in-service
teachers was approximately 39 ranging between 25 and 59 years. There were 52
males and only 8 females. The Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–439 427 average
teaching experience was approximately 12 years ranging from as low as 1 year to
37 years. The pre-service mathematics teachers were from the mathematics teacher
education programme at University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana. 95 of them were
males and 25 females aged between 19 and 43 years with an average age of nearly
26 years. The low representation of female teachers in this study is a reflection
of the under-representation of females in science and mathematics in particular
at all levels, from basic school to university. For instance, in 2006, female teachers
constituted only 15% of the mathematics teachers in the country (Ottevanger et
al. 2007). Six Principals and 14 Heads of departments (Hod’s) in the
mathematics section from the 16 SHS’s were involved in the study. Also involved
in the study were the Head of department of the teacher education programme and
an officer from the ICT section of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
2.2
Research instruments
2.2.1 Questionnaire
A
questionnaire was used to collect data for this study. The first section of the
questionnaire was used to collect demographic data. Following this were
sections about availability and levels of ICT access, current pedagogical
practices, perceived barriers in the use of ICT, and professional development
and training needs. Availability and accessibility of ICT Variables indicating
level of availability and accessibility of ICT facilities were used to measure
ICT infrastructure available and also accessible by in-service mathematics
teachers in the SHS. Respondents were supposed to indicate either “yes” or “no”
to whether they had a facility available/accessible in their various schools. Current
pedagogical practices, perceived barriers in the use of ICT, and professional
development and training needs Different variables were used to measure the
current practices of in-service mathematics teachers from the SHS’s and the
instructors at the teacher education programme at UCC. Barriers teachers perceived
in the use of ICT in instruction and perceptions of professional developments
and training needs were also measured.
2.2.2 Interviews
Interviews
were conducted for 6 principals and 14 Hod’s from the SHS’s that were involved
in the study. Interview data was meant to provide in-depth elaborations for data
collected through the questionnaire.
2.3
Data
collection and data analysis procedures
The
questionnaire was distributed to the pre-service teachers during the school
after a lecture. For the in-service teachers it was sent to them in their
various high schools 428 Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–43 with the help of principals and department heads. To
analyze the data descriptive statistics was
used. Interview data were audio taped and transcribed using data reduction technique (Miles and Huberman 1994).
3.
Results
3.1
Barriers to ICT integration
3.1.1
Perceived barriers to ICT integration
What was perceived to be important barriers in integrating ICT
in lessons was investigated in the study. Respondents were asked to indicate
their levels of agreement on perceived barriers to ICT integration on a
five-point Likert scale (1
strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The scores were interpreted as follows:
one is the lowest possible score, which represents a negative attitude, while
five is the highest possible score which represent a very strong positive
attitude. In
general the mean values for the pre-service teachers appear to be
higher than the in-service teachers, but the differences were
not huge.
3.1.2
Availability and accessibility of ICT
To ascertain the current situation in the SHS’s, the 60
in-service teachers were asked if certain ICT facilities were available. Table 2 gives a summary of
their responses. About 98% of the in-service teachers from the 16 SHS reported
having at least one computer laboratory in their schools.
The high responses in the availability of computer labs were
confirmed by the officer from the ICT unit of the GES. In an interview with
him, he reported that the
Government of Ghana is committed to deployment of sufficient ICT
infrastructure in all SHS’s in Ghana. He purported “As part of the New Reforms
to introduce ICT at all level of Education in Ghana, it is the Governments’ policy
to provide ICT facility in all SHS. Some schools have already taken delivery of
such support while the process is still ongoing”. Some teachers also indicated
that Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) had been helpful in providing computers
in their schools. This apparently explains the establishments of computer
lab(s) in all the schools. Further questions were asked to ascertain how
accessible these facilities were. Relatively low figures: (Access to Computers
(office/Computer Lab) = 21%, Access to Computers (staff common room/Library) =
13% and Internet Connectivity = 46%) indicating low accessibilities of computer
facilities were observed. The teachers indicated further that computer
laboratories were used mainly for Information Technology (IT) lessons which
were compulsory for all students; making it difficult to access facilities in
computer lab for personal use or other purposes. Interview data from the Hod’s
and the principals of the various SHS’s gave a better picture of the state of ICT
availability and accessibility in the schools.
The interview data (by the Hod’s) indicated that schools lacked
specialised software application (e.g. as derive, graphic calculus, geometer’s
sketchpad etc) and did not use them at all in classrooms. Most of the Hod’s (12
out of 14) confirmed that computer labs were mostly used by the IT departments
to train students to acquire basic skills in computing and were not used for
any other subject instruction. However, six of them pointed further that, the facility
was available to all interested teachers (mainly after school) to prepare their
lessons and also get information from the internet. One of the Hod’s said that
his school had a specialised Lab just for the teachers to enhance their
preparation for a lesson. Responding to the question whether the Lab could be
used for mathematics lessons with their students, seven were of the view that
it was possible to arrange to use the facility while the other seven said the
lab was almost always busy. One of them had the following to say: “Normally the
time table is structured in such a way that it will be difficult for any other
subject teaching in the Lab; because of the number of classes the Lab is always
occupied. More computer Labs should be created so that other subject teaching
could be possible.” and the other: “Hitherto mathematics teachers have not been
using computers in their instruction so no such arrangement had been made, but
with effort and planning with the IT unit it should be feasible”. All the
principals on the other hand maintained strongly that any teacher who was
willing to use the lab for a lesson could make an arrangement for it. One of
them commented as below: “This is a facility that is made available for teaching.
As an IT department it beholds on them to train the students in the use of the
facility; but if a mathematics teacher wants to use the facility for his/her
lesson, it is also available. Yes. So we use them interchangeably. The idea
that the school must equip the students to acquire basic IT skills is one side,
the teachers also willing to use it in their individual lesson is another
side”. Another head asserted:
“The facilities are there; but the problem is with the teacher.
The teacher should be in the position to use them. If the teachers are well equipped
then they can integrate ICT in their teaching. The teachers being well equipped
is a very crucial condition for student to benefit fully from the facilities”.
3.1.3
Current pedagogical practices
Both in-service and pre-service teachers responded to this item,
citing the teaching strategies they use and that which they have experienced in
their SHS’s respectively.
Two Hods’ said mathematics teachers in their department
occasionally gave assignments to students in groups to read on various topics
to do individual presentations and one other said maths teachers in his
department used demonstrations and experiments especially when teaching
probability to their students. One of the interviewees’ purported; “We are not
yet there. At best some mathematics teachers are able to type their own questions
for student tests and examinations. They are able to get information they need
from the internet either for their own purposes or to prepare their notes”.
Responses depicted in Table 3, seem to suggest a similar trend for both group of teachers
although the mean values for pre-service teachers were relatively low.
3.1.4
Levels of ICT use at the teacher education programme in UCC
With regards to ICT application in instruction, pre-service
teachers were asked to indicate the extent to which instructors in their
department applied some ICT applications in teaching.
They had to indicate one of these stages:
(1) Not at all;
(2) A little
(3) Somewhat and
(4) A lot in the
department do not make use of ICT applications at all or at best just a little
in their instruction.
The Head of Department of the mathematics education programme
reiterated this in an interview. He indicated that most of the content courses
for the programme are not taught in the department. These are courses taught by
the Mathematics and Statistics Department in the faculty of Science (for both
the pure sciences and the Pre-service teachers); so little or no emphasis is
placed on hands - on approach type of teaching. He added that most instructors
at the teacher education programme continue to use traditional tools for
teaching without or with a limited integration of ICT due to two main reasons:
courses are not designed to integrate ICT in its delivery and lack of
technology integration skills (especially related to older staff members). He
emphasized that there is the need to re-design courses in the programme that
will involve pedagogical content knowledge and more hands-on activities. In
commenting he said: “We need to change the focus of our courses we teach in the
department; they are too traditional. My vision is to promote the redesigning of
courses in the department to be hands-on to enable students think better and
use their hands more. So my intention is for us to move away from the traditional
way of teaching”. Responding to a question on whether ICT infrastructure
availability and accessibility did not pose a problem for instructors’ lack of
ICT use, he asserted that although the department did not have an up-todate computer
lab for teaching mathematics, the faculty had one which was available to
instructors (particularly mathematics and science education) and was heavily underutilized.
He stated: “The computers are there! If you come to the faculty, we have a
whole computer Lab which is rarely used. It is because lecturers have not designed
their courses to use computers. It means we have a lot to do in this area. We
need to encourage lecturers to incorporate the use of computers in their
delivery; but for now, the same old traditional way of teaching dominates. So even
though the computers are there they are not put into use”. It could be alleged from
the results that the instructors’ inability to use ICT in instruction is likely
to have a ripple effect on these pre-service teachers in their profession since
the former are their trainers.
3.2
Professional development and training needs
An investigation also aimed at determining mathematics teachers’
overall perception towards ICT integration in lessons, training needs and
willingness to participate in professional development programme that integrate
ICT in instruction. Reporting on the overall perceptions of teachers’
willingness to integrate ICT in lessons, an overwhelming majority of 96% (very willing = 68%, willing = 28%)
pre-service and in-service teachers reported they were willing to integrate ICT
in their future lessons. Only
1% said they were highly sceptical and 3% neutral as far as ICT integration into
future lessons were concerned.
One of the Hods’ explained “I wish we could move from this chalk
board approach to white board and effective use of ICT in instruction. It will
make teaching easier and facilitate students’ understanding”. The Head for the
teacher education programme also expressed with much emphasis the need to
incorporate into the programme courses which could help pre-service teachers
acquire the skill of teaching with ICT in their future profession.
Specifically, he proposed that a particular course “Preparing teaching aids for
mathematics teaching” taught in the final year could be re-designed to include
the component of ICT. With respect to whether teachers have had the opportunity
to participate in any professional development activities or not and as to
which professional development needs they would want to have, will be a step in the right direction.
Trainings have concentrated on how to help teachers get
information on the internet and basic skills of computing. Again the unit is
faced with the challenge of finances. As a result the TOT approach is used. This
is the situation where few teachers are selected in a district to undergo training
with the aim that these teachers will serve as trainers to other teachers in the
same district. Unfortunately subsequent training in the various district most
of the time do not take place due to improper planning. All the principals of
the schools confirmed that the GES hardly organized training programmes for the
schools but if they did, it focused on giving teachers basic ICT skills. The
Hod’s also explained that their schools did not provide any support of that
kind to assist teachers integrate ICT in their instruction.
Few (5 out of 14) of them however indicated that training
programmes to assist teachers to acquire basic skills were offered. Two further
indicated that, the training programmes were not timely and most of the time
targeted fresh teachers.
One of them said: “At the beginning of the academic year
training is organized particularly for fresh teachers to become computer
literate to equip them to be able to set their questions, key in students’
results and get information from the internet.” Although responses from the teachers
were high for course on multimedia (in-service teachers = 87%, pre-service
teachers = 94%) and subject-specific training with learning software for
specific mathematics content goals (in-service teachers = 82%, pre-service
teachers = 90%) indicating that they would want to attend such courses if
available, interview data from respondents were rather contrary to these views.
The Hods’ were of the view that more generalized software such
as the spreadsheet which is user friendly could be adopted in any training to
develop teachers to integrate ICT in teaching.
4
Discussion and conclusions
Despite the positive policy statements regarding the need for
technology in Ghanaian Senior High Schools, and in the mathematics curriculum
in particular, the implementation of technology in educational practice will be
a major effort. In this study we explored the barriers, learning needs and
opportunities for preparing mathematics teachers to integrate ICT in their
instructions. We collected data from in-service teachers who were teaching in
schools which had a relative good technology infrastructure. This choice was made
because we expect that these schools (and their teachers) will be the first
ones to implement the ambitions of the Ghanaian government regarding technology
integration in the Senior High School.
This is also confirmed by the school principals that were
interviewed as part of the
study. Also we collected data from pre-service teachers. To
realize the implementation of technology, pre-service teachers need to be well
prepared to use technology in their future teaching. For this reason we invited
pre-service teachers from one of the two main teacher education institutions to
participate in the study. Although findings from this study can not be generalized
to Ghanaian in- and pre-service mathematics teachers, we believe that they
provide information about conditions and opportunities to realize the first
steps in the process of implementation of technology in Senior High Schools.
Fullan (2007) indicated that school-based professional community can offer
support and motivation to teachers as they work to overcome the tight
resources, isolation, time constraints and other obstacles they commonly encounter
in today’s schools. He maintains that within a strong professional community,
for example, teachers can work collectively to set and enforce standards of
instruction and learning. The results showed a number of barriers identified to
be reasons why mathematics teachers in this study did not integrate ICT in
their instruction. Among others, lack of ICT knowledge in integration: lack of
knowledge about ways to integrate ICT in lesson and lack of training
opportunities for ICT integration knowledge acquisition
(Ottevanger et al. 2007; Snoeyink and Ertmer 2002; Jones 2004) were the major perceived barriers identified by both group of teachers.
Particularly, the pre-service teachers in this study reported fairly lower attitudes
about knowledge of technology use in instruction than the in-service teachers.
In-service training programmes organised for in-service teachers as was reported
by school heads could explain this difference. Lack of ICT infrastructure (Snoeyink
and Ertmer 2002; Jones 2004) were also reported by the participant to be real challenges
faced in the mathematics classrooms in Ghana. The study showed that schools
lacked common mathematical software (such as derive, graphic calculus,
geometer’s sketchpad etc) used in teaching mathematics. It was particularly surprising
to find that no classroom was identified to be web-based although few computer
laboratories were supported by internet connectivity. Low ICT access levels as
reported by the teachers are possible barriers for their inability to integrate
ICT in instruction. Similar study conducted in Ghana
(Agyei and Voogt, submitted) reported low levels of ICT integration of these teachers as a
result of their low ICT competencies and access levels.
Another barrier to ICT integration as reported by the teachers was the
teaching strategy used in SHS’s.
The
most frequently used strategy for
teaching as reported was the chalk and talk approach (Ottevanger et al. 2007; Ampiah et al. 2004);
in which teachers did most of the talking and intellectual work,
436
Educ Inf Technol (2011) 16:423–439
The programme also did not include courses where teachers were
taught how to integrate ICT in their lessons (Adamy and Boulmetis 2006; Brown and
Warschauer 2006).
This means that the pre-service teachers’ experience to
integrate ICT in teaching is limited making the programme fall short of the
practical approach. This leads to the big question whether the presently
trained pre-service teachers are sufficiently prepared for new teaching methods
which are flexible and involve appropriate use of technology. The teachers also
indicated that although schools are generally interested in ICT use, regular
school practices did not promote ICT use in classrooms. Most in-service teachers
reported that schools did not offer them sufficient time to manage and familiarise
themselves with ICT. They maintained that as well as lack of time, schools did
not provide support network for them to take up the challenges of using ICT in
teaching. An additional barrier that could have contributed to these teachers use
of ICT was the curriculum factor. Although the curriculum requires mathematics teachers
to use ICT in instruction, some teachers (especially in-service ones) alleged that
the current status of the curriculum presented serious threats to possibilities
of teaching to integrate ICT in the classroom. As a result most of them
reinforce the phenomenon of “teaching to the test” where they rush to cover all
the topics mechanically in order to finish on time for examinations rather than
striving for in depth student learning. Thus they contended that, to allow for
meaningful teaching by integrating ICT, the concern of curriculum overload
should be addressed.
In spite of the barriers, the study also showed several
opportunities that existed
for the teachers to be trained to be able to integrate ICT in
their teaching. Curriculum (MOESS 2007; MOE 2000) and Policy documents (Ghana
ICT4AD Policy 2003) highlight the importance of integrating ICT to enhance
teaching and learning. The teacher education programme and SHS’s are open to
any such ICT innovation. Both in- and pre-service teachers expressed the need
for mathematics teachers to integrate ICT in their lessons. More importantly
they showed a lot of enthusiasm to be part of any professional development
programme related to integrating ICT in teaching and learning mathematics. It
was encouraging to find that contemporary mathematics teachers appeared
generally supportive and confident in wanting to use computers in their
classrooms. Their overwhelming high perceptions (more especially the inservice teachers)
to integrate ICT in an innovative way to improve teaching in their future
lessons confirmed this. This is in line with similar study (Authors; in preparation)
which reported positive attitudes of these teachers towards ICT integration
which is a necessary condition for teachers’ willingness to participate in an
ICT related programme and a predictor of future classroom integration (Authors; in
preparation). Although the study reported overall low ICT infrastructure and
accessibility in the schools, it could be argued that with computer numbers in schools
having increased, the access difficulties identified are likely to stem from a situation
in which demand outstrips supply rather than simply a shortage of Educ Inf
Technol (2011) 16:423–439 437 hardware; although this may be the case in some
SHS’s in other parts of the country. This augurs well for the future with
respect to the design of a professional development programme and anticipated
levels of computer competence and its use among new, younger, mathematics
teachers as they enter the profession. The findings reported here highlight
areas that require further attention to enable teachers use ICT in mathematics
teaching. In particular, a professional development scenario that will assist
pre-service and in-service teachers develop skills on ways to integrate ICT in
their teaching processes was one of the significant issues identified by the
researchers. Such a programme need not differ in content but in format for both
groups of teachers. Bearing in mind the complexity of the problems most mathematics
classroom in Ghana face in terms of ICT infrastructure and lack of application
software, an environment with a more generalised application that offer a technology
readily available and user friendly among mathematics classroom with the
potential for supporting students’ higher-order thinking in mathematics (such
as spreadsheet) is proposed for use in professional development programmes.
This will ensure that teachers will be able to use existing hardware and
software in creative and situation specific ways to design ICT resources to
accomplish their teaching goals. Thus this study is in line with SMICT study
(Ottevanger et al. 2007) which discusses the lessons for improving teaching and learning
mathematics in secondary education in Africa. Among their recommendations, effective
use of ICT needs to be optimized through extensive programmes of teacher
support to improve mathematics and science teaching in Sub-Saharan Africa. Open
Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are
credited.
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