Transform Your K-5 Math Class: Digital Age Tools to Spark Learning

Through detailed lessons and examples, discover how to integrate technology in K-5 math to amplify and enhance your mathematics teaching and drive student learning.

Instead of drill-and-practice apps and worksheets, what if technology enabled exploration of math concepts? Instead of screens for disconnected individual learning, what if technology fostered mathematical discourse and collaboration? Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching mathematics, what if we used technology to differentiate to meet students’ diverse needs?

Technology has the power and potential to support the teaching and learning of math content at all grade levels, but the presence of technology is insufficient unless it’s paired with effective teaching practices and meaningful content. This book poses and unpacks the above questions and many more, with examples that illustrate how to integrate technology in the K-5 math classroom, highlighting opportunities to transform mathematics teaching through strategic technology use.

The book:

• Illustrates two contrasting examples in each chapter, including transcripts of sample class conversations, mathematical tasks, illustrations of student work and reflection and discussion prompts.
• Features discussion of research-based ideas relating to the contrasts presented in the chapters, encouraging readers to connect what they learn from the specific cases with the research on these topics.
• Covers a variety of mathematics content areas such as functions and algebraic thinking, geometry and measurement, and data and statistics.
• Provides strategies for implementing the concepts in class, with ideas and examples of tools based not on how they look but what they can do in your mathematics teaching.

Today’s technology offers more possibilities than ever for supporting students in mathematics. This book draws upon the latest research in technology and math education, while providing tools to incorporate effective strategies into curriculum right away.

Audience: K-5 educators

Amanda Thomas, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of mathematics education in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She received her doctoral degree in 2013 from the University of Missouri–Columbia. Her research focuses on teachers’ use of mobile technology in elementary mathematics classrooms. She’s also interested in STEM education and supporting teachers in innovative STEM integration.