Digital Technologies and Engagement in the Middle Years of Mathematics and Science
Digital technologies are firmly part of our and our students' lives. From social media as a means of communication and connection and the internet as a source of information to tools such as fitness watches to track health and well-being and smart devices in the home for convenience and security.
However, this is not often reflected in the classroom, with technology rarely used effectively to support and enhance teaching and learning. Although the use of digital technologies has become more prominent since the COVID-19 lockdowns (Beardsley et al., 2021; Haleem et al., 2022), their use is random and often contingent upon the teacher's personal attitudes, technical literacy and understanding of how best to utilise these technologies to support the curriculum requirements.
For a long time, mathematics and science education have been at the centre of attention for promoting long-term economic prosperity (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2012; Rocard et al., 2007). However, despite significant investment, there has been an enduring decline in student engagement and participation within Australian schools (for example, Education Council, 2019; Kennedy et al., 2014; Osborne et al., 2003; Wienk, 2022; Wilson & Mack, 2014). This decline is most acutely observed in the middle years (Years 7-10), with students losing their engagement in these learning areas when transitioning from primary to secondary school (Education Council, 2019; Osborne et al., 2003).
Some sub-groups, such as female students and students from low socio-economic backgrounds, are most likely to disengage from mathematics and science learning. When students become disengaged in the middle years, they rarely become engaged again. This negatively impacts not just their subject choices in Years 11 and 12 but also their future career pathways. The results are limited numbers of Australians in STEM fields, particularly females and those from low socio-economic status backgrounds (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2020).
Many strategies have been found to increase students' engagement in mathematics and science. Such approaches generally promote a student-centred approach that connects classroom learning with students' lives (Dinham & Rowe, 2007; Gibbs & Poskitt, 2010; Pendergast, 2017). One of these strategies involves using digital technologies in mathematics and science to support student learning of the content whilst demonstrating the relevance, value, and application of the learning in their personal contexts.
However, digital technologies are often used superficially and not to their full extent. This includes using interactive whiteboards to show videos or digital worksheets instead of paper-based worksheets. In large part, the effective use of technologies for mathematics and science education depends primarily on teachers' motivation, confidence and knowledge of such technologies. In this regard, the curriculum plays a significant role in supporting teachers' effective use of technologies more sustainably (Denoel et al., 2017; Williams et al., 2004).
Digital Technologies Within Australian Curriculum
To address the decline in mathematics and science participation, the curriculum should promote strategies that bridge the gap between curriculum structures and interests and lived experiences of students. In the middle years, this means reflecting on students' individual needs and providing teachers with opportunities to readily connect mathematics and science concepts to students' lives. In this way, the curriculum and teaching can intersect to support student motivation and engagement through contextualised and relevant examples. This involves the effective use of digital technologies.
In 2020-2021, the Australian Curriculum underwent a major review, its first since its release in 2014. This provided the opportunity to update the content to reflect contemporary practices and encourage teachers to use digital technologies to improve student engagement and motivation by having them more explicitly represented in the curricula. To examine the changes in the curriculum, I compared the existing version (v8.4) with the new version (v9.0) for mathematics and science, looking for differences in how digital technologies were framed.
For both learning areas, digital technologies were mentioned much more frequently in the new version of the curriculum and with more variety. In v8.4 of the curriculum, any references to digital technologies were generally vague, using outdated terms, particularly for adolescents (such as 'information technology' or 'web-based data'). In the new version, however, there were more explicit terms to what was meant by digital technologies, such as 'geospatial technologies', '3D printing' and 'social media'. These terms may be more familiar to our students, but they also give more clarity to teachers about how to use the technologies to deliver the curriculum.
Most digital technology terms are used in the curriculum content documents that outline what should be taught at each year level. In the new curriculum, digital technologies appear more frequently in both the content descriptors and elaborations; however, they were more likely to be used in the elaborations. This is challenging as while the content descriptors outline what is expected to be taught at each stage, the elaborations are optional ways in which these could be implemented.
The lack of clarity around technology use in the curriculum can cause significant challenges. If teachers are not familiar with these technologies, not confident in using them or do not personally see their benefits, they are not encouraged to use them. This has continued from the existing version of the curriculum where most references to digital technologies involved the phrase 'with or without the use of digital technologies', again giving the option to ignore this approach if personal value was not given to this strategy.
Similarly, the appearance of digital technologies in the achievement standards documents remains low (in mathematics) or non-existent (in science). The achievement standards outline what students should be able to do by the end of each year level and, therefore, guide teachers about the expectations of their students to allow for consistency across the country. If the use of digital technologies in mathematics and science is not evident and explicit within the achievement standards, then how are teachers to know what and how students should be using them at each year level? The achievement standards need to specify the knowledge and skills students require to use these tools effectively in each learning area and assess whether they can connect the learning areas and their lives.
In both versions of the mathematics curricula, digital technologies were seen mainly as tools for helping learn the content. For example, 'solving addition and subtraction problems involving fractions and decimals; for example, using rectangular arrays with dimensions equal to the denominators, algebra tiles, digital tools or informal jottings' (ACARA, 2022). This reflects how we use digital tools in our lives to solve problems and better understand mathematics; however, it does not address how these tools rely on mathematics or that anytime we interact with digital technologies, we apply mathematical knowledge and skills.
Within the science curriculum, v8.4 mainly referenced the use of digital technologies to analyse data. In contrast, v9.0 focussed more on students learning about digital technologies and how that has been enabled by advancements in science (for example, 'considering the impact of technological advances developed in Australia such as…Doctor John O'Sullivan and CSIRO's invention of wi-fi (ACARA, 2022)). This update demonstrates technology's critical role in our lives and how much science depends on technology.
Although these are steps in the right direction for science teaching, there are still opportunities to make more explicit connections between science and its real-world applications. For example, in Year 10, students learn about Newton's Laws of Motion. Yet, there is no mention of how the satellites that allow our students 24/7 access to the internet (and so much more) are utilising these laws to remain in geostationary orbit around the Earth without additional forces to keep it moving. Furthermore, despite using satellite imagery across a variety of learning areas from as early as Year 1 (for example, Year 1, 3 and 4 HASS; Year 5 and 6 Digital Technologies; Year 3 Mathematics and; Year 7 and 10 Geography), the curriculum never actually unpacks the science behind this technology that is such a big part of our lives.
Concluding Thoughts and Implications
There has been a shift in the curriculum to encourage the integration of digital technologies in mathematics and science to better reflect the real lives of adolescent learners and hopefully promote their engagement with learning. This is evidenced by the increased number of references to digital technologies, the variety of technologies mentioned and how they have been used are more explicit.
However, there are still areas lacking. This includes compulsory use within some curriculum areas, such as the achievement standards and specific content descriptors, which currently contain almost no mention of digital technologies.
It is also worth noting that just because digital technologies are present within the curriculum, it does not mean that teachers will use them or will be able to use them effectively. Further research into how teachers enact these changes in the curriculum is required. Also, as described in research for many years, additional support is needed to develop teachers' ability to use these technologies effectively and in ways that promote student engagement and learning.
It is important to note that adopting technologies should not be simply about replacing existing tools with their digital counterparts. Instead, digital technologies should provide students with learning experiences that would otherwise not be possible and inconceivable (Bray & Tangney, 2017; Puentedura, 2010). Such approaches would help students understand how and why science and mathematics underpin modern society and how they are used in everyday life.
We know digital technologies can support every element of teaching and learning, from planning and enacting lessons to assessment, feedback and communication (Beardsley et al., 2021). It is time to use them to their greatest potential to best excite our students about mathematics and science and prepare them for their future immersed in a technological world.
References
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