Mathematics with Everyday Expertise Nathanael Cannon Boise State University EDTECH 504 Spring 2013

Abstract Everyone learns differently is something that has been obvious to me as an educator over the last nine years. With this observation, adapting a lesson plan to accommodate all the different learning styles can prove to be a challenge. However, there have been many improvements over the years with technology to aid dedicated educators to include each students unique life experiences to help improve the comprehension of certain subject areas, in this case mathematics, just a little bit better. In this paper, several correlations between technology and everyday activities are examined as well as how technology can be involved in the students life both in and outside of the classroom.

Background Growing up in this generation of technology, I am accustomed to it being an integral part of everyday life in some way, shape or form. However, I have seen and taught the traditional methods of listen and learn while I talk at you and have been working to implement the newer methods of let us interact and adjust the lesson/teaching as I get feedback from the learners. Putting together all the readings, the Internet, this Masters program, and the observation that technology is constantly evolving, I have come to the conclusion that Education Technology can be defined as, Anything that can directly aid the learning process (understanding that not everyone learns the same way or at the same speed) and also increases the learning abilities of both the student and the educator. With this definition of Educational Technology as my guide, I started to notice a pattern but could not understand the direction that this idea was leading. It was not until I read about Everyday Expertise written by Zimmerman and Bell (Jonassen & Land, 2012) that the learning theory presented indicated there was more to learning that trying to narrow it down to one item. [T]he everyday expertise theoretical framework allows for learning to have multiple dimensions individual, social, and cultural which results in a broad consideration of how people learn within and across learning environments (Jonassen & L, 2012). Combining these definitions with my teaching experience, an unexpected realization dawned on me. During my almost ten years of teaching, I have taught countless numbers of siblings as well as a few twins. One thing that I have noticed is that not everyone learns the same way. Even in the case of the twins where almost all of their backgrounds where the same, they each had unique ways of looking at problems and solving them. It was almost as if the

twins, and every other student I have had in my classroom, have their own unique language that I, as a teacher, need to understand so I can talk to them. This Everyday Expertise learning theory takes all these background items into account and allows one to accomplish different kinds of analyses of the learning environment (Jonassen & L, 2012). Zimmerman and Bell (2012) also stated that, This call [for a new framework] was motivated by research findings that conclude that learners do not act with equal competency in all settings that they participate in, even if the content is the same from a researchers perspective. The last part of this sentence stood out to me and reinforced my prior understanding that not everyone learns the same way. Our students have more to them than just what the researchers are looking for! The Everyday Expertise theory builds on the students: sociocultural views, ecological models of psychology and distributed perspectives on thinking and doing (Jonassen & L, 2012). However, to put it more simply, it describes our students learning as three planes: the individual plane, the cultural plane, and the social plane. These three planes are inextricably linked and, a benefit of using the everyday expertise framework with its three analytical planes is that researchers avoid essentializing learners by presuming individuals have stereotypical traits because of their membership in ethnic or cultural groups (Jonassen & L, 2012). There have been many instances in which a parent or another teacher told me that a specific child will be a trouble maker, or a good kid, due to prior sibling or historical parental behavior. I usually do not accept these prejudices because I know from experience that not everyone is the same. My two younger brothers and I have had extremely similar childhood experiences. When people find out that we are brothers, the usual response is disbelief due to

our behavioral differences. The Everyday Expertise theory states that while some similar characteristics may still be present, which is true of me and my brothers, each person is also unique. So when Zimmerman and Bell (2012) stated that, Not only can everyday expertise be used to understand learning within or across certain spaces, but it can also help designers to develop learning environments that connect youth, backgrounds, and values to the goals of formal and informal institutions, I could definitely relate to it. It goes back to the language concept introduced earlier. Whether I am talking to my brothers or to my students, I must take into account all of my experiences with them in order to determine the best method to convey a topic or idea to them. Relation to technology Technology is everywhere these days and finally some of the amazing features that have been available to the individual, have become affordable for use in the classroom. Utilizing SMARTBoards, iPads and/or laptops for all students, and even having wireless capabilities available throughout an entire school are several of the revolutionary changes happening in education. However, merely having technology just to have it is not enough; rather there needs to be practical applications of it to engage and enhance the learners knowledge. Supporting this line of thought, several studies have been conducted which demonstrate the link between technology and learning. In the article by Nasir and Hand (2008), they accurately pointed out that, One conclusion researches have drawn from these findings is that teachers might support better learning in school if they build on the understanding students are gaining outside of school. This is repeated in Andersons & Drons (2011) article where they indicate, Constructivists emphasize the importance of knowledge having individual meaning

in an authentic context as possible. While this last statement is somewhat constructivist, its underlying theme of understanding the students background and interests facilitate educators with the creation of meaningful examples which display where this concept will affect them in their lives. According to these various takes on expertise, a good amount of practice and learning is needed to become an expert (Weinstock, 2009) is a statement that is frequently highlighted through technology and Everyday Expertise. In an article written by Honing and Ladinig (2009), they discovered that, musical competence the perceptual skills and musical knowledge that are required to perceive and appreciate musical input is influenced by extensive formal music training or mere exposure to music. Over 200 participants from different careers and experience utilizing the Web, listened to 10 classical, 10 jazz and 10 rock musical pieces. The data included numerous charts and graphs from the participants and were given to the reader. The type of music the participant preferred had an impact on their response during the study. This study showcased that there was a correlation between what the trained and untrained musicallyinclined person could distinguish. In fact, musical capabilities could be enhanced by mere exposure to the music instead of formal training (Honing & Ladinig, 2009). Another article titled Mechanisms and neural basis of object and pattern recognition: a study with chess experts (Bilali , Langner, Erb, & Grodd, 2010), used novice and expert chess players who were shown identical chess board situations while scientific equipment monitored eye movement and brain activity. The study noticed that experts were not as distracted by all of the distractors on the board, while those with limited exposure to the game of chess were in fact more distracted. Woll (2002) continued this chess relationship with Everyday Expertise and technology when he stated that, chess skill involves an ability to plan moves farther ahead

and that the experience and knowledge of grand masters in the game showed little decrement in their performance when they played and were blindfolded. Everyone has experiences that are unique to them; it is what makes us all unique. The more experience that an individual can gain as they practice to fill in incomplete knowledge, the more likely they will show success when asked to showcase their knowledge. While not everyone is a grand master in chess, we all can be a grand master in something that interests us. Everyday Expertise can even be found in computer and/or video games in its simplest form. Malone (1980) states that, the way to engage learners curiosity is to present just enough information to make their existing knowledge seem incomplete, inconsistent, or unparsimonious. Through gaming, these knowledge voids can be filled with structured, coordinated lessons relating to the game being played and the lessons that the educator provides to the students. Sandford (2006) coordinated a yearlong study where they observed over-thecounter games being utilized within the classroom. While there was a range of gaming ability amongst students which had an impact on teachers lesson plans which coordinates itself with Everyday Expertise learning theory, using games [technology] in a meaningful way within the lessons depended far more on the effective use of existing teaching skills. While technology has always been available to the educator is some way, shape or form, it has always been the use of technology by the educator to help fill in the gaps that the students might have relating to a certain subject. These articles showcased that no matter a persons interest, there can be a correlation between the individuals background and the subject being learned. This idea can be brought into the classroom and the interaction educators have with their students. Teachers are technically experts in the subject they are presenting to the students, while the students are generally

novices in the field that is being presented. One of the goals as educators is to take the entire situation of the topic being discovered and break it down in such a way that non-experts can understand in an easier and non-threatening manner. This should be one of the main goals of any educator. Bringing it into my classroom While the classroom has certainly evolved over time, in the past two decades this change has become exponential in nature. In fact, technology has been changing so fast that the words of David Tennant who plays The Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who came to mind when trying to describe it: Dont blink (KotoriMendes33, 2008). What may be the cool new toy/app/device one year might not be as effective in years to come. Teachers must be flexible and willing to adapt, which might even entail retirement of some lessons or methods. As a math teacher, I have a unique core area of education that some people do not enjoy. The excuses that I have heard range from, I dont like the letters or, I dont like fractions to simply, I just do not get it! All of my students, and even adult learners, are entering with their own unique meanings for everything. It is my job as an educator to assist the students as best as I can with understanding the material. Sometimes, that is done in a one-to-one situation where we work to break down previous misconceptions about a topic. Other times, it is finding out what they do or do not know about a mathematical idea and then filling in the gaps. Whichever method I use, the end goal is to help them create their own unique and correct meanings of the mathematics. This correlates very well with Everyday Expertise and how everyone has their own perception of concepts.

With the ideas of Everyday Expertise and technology in mind, trying to create and implement hundreds of different presentations of the material for individual understanding is a daunting task. This is where the technology can help educators Work Smarter, Not Harder. ALEKS is a computer program that my math department and I have been using within my classroom for the last several years. Our department has been diligently working to find a way to implement remediation of algebra and geometry skills and offer a digital component to the learning. This program coordinates itself nicely with Everyday Expertise in a way that coordinates with the idea that everyone learns differently. ALEKS takes that and guides the student through their own personalized pathway to understanding the material. Within the ALEKS program, there is a section called QuickTables where students can work on their simple math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. A significant portion of the foundations of mathematics is based upon the core concepts. Without these fundamental pieces of math knowledge, future learning of material can be difficult, if not impossible. ALEKS incorporates years of data, research and an interactive gaming experience to facilitate mastery of mathematical concepts in students from 3rd grade on up. Knowing that not all students are intrinsically motivated to learn from a computer screen, I have taken my unique situation of being a new school teacher taught in the old school ways to create options for my students to help them succeed. The advantages of having a SMARTBoard within my classroom is that I can create notes ahead of time and convert them to an electronic form which I post on my website for the students to download and print off before class even starts. This helps those learners who need some sort of graphic organizer to coordinate their note-taking abilities. While some students use this option, others prefer to work on perfecting their own note-taking skills individually without the use of a graphic organizer.

The SMARTBoard software allows me to save my completed notes to my website where the students can go back and double-check if they correctly copied down the information. The link between website and copy machine has also helped students with certain learning styles and background experience become successful within the classroom. I can now create digital copies of my answer keys for the practice (more widely known as homework) problems that I have assigned and then place them on my website. This way, a student anywhere in the world can look up how to solve a problem and fill in the incomplete knowledge gaps they may have or to confirm what they already know. Even the more current Facebook, Twitter and numerous websites that allow one to curate a specific topic can be utilized by the students if they need that extra piece of information to fill in their knowledge gaps. Conclusion No matter what city, state or country in which someone has grown up or moved to within their lifetimes, we all are unique in our experiences. It is those experiences which shape who we are and how we learn. Parts of society may tell us we have to conform to their rules in order for the greater good to operate with little difficulty. The recent events in Boston and the cooperation of the citizens is an example of this. However, in an education setting, we as educators have all of these unique perspectives walking into our classrooms every day. We must be aware that not everyone learns the same and that our students are constantly changing on a daily basis. Part of our job as educators is to grow and learn along with that student in order to help them achieve success. While Everyday Expertise is a newer learning theory, bits and pieces of it can be found in other learning theories and ways of life. Effectively coordinating students interest, technology and our way of presenting the mastered material is an important process that we need

to do so that students achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. We all want what is best for our students and Everyday Expertise is just one way that we can help them become the best individuals they can be.

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