Informed integration of IWB technology, incorporated with exposure to varied mathematics problem-solving skills: its effect on students’ real-time emotions

ABSTRACT

Technology has an inseparable role in contemporary educational systems. Recent demands consider its informed integration in classrooms. The current study aims to investigate whether informed use of Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) technologies affects students’ real-time emotions in mathematics classes, through an integrative research model that combines two components: varying levels of technology integration and varied levels of problem-solving skills. Participants included 64 sixth-grade students who were assigned to one of two comparison groups who have been progressively exposed to different implementations of the research model. The study used a real-time judgment of emotions scale, and a reflective questionnaire. Findings indicate that when being exposed to informed IWB integration, more positive emotions arose in real-time during learning; specifically, toward understanding-performance, and when being required to demonstrate applying problem-solving skills. The study provides a holistic view that reinforces the interplay between the two components of the integrative research model, particularly as it supports the advantage of an informed IWB technology integration in a way that most successfully incorporated with the cognitive demand required from students.

KEYWORDS:

• Informed technology integration
• IWB technology
• mathematics learning
• problem-solving skills
• real-time emotions

Acknowledgements

The findings of this paper are based on data collected by Sigal Zakay (M.A.), who completed a research project under my supervision. Her help is gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Zehavit Kohen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2084-4780

Notes

1. As following detailed in the research methodology, the technology integration component of the model could not have been investigated as an isolated variable, thus I referenced the differences by varying levels of technology integration (Enhancement and Transformation), as part of the second interaction research question.

2. All names are pseudonyms.