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Dr. Polly speaks on his recent title Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education

Interview with Dr. Drew Polly, Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

By IGI Global on Mar 9, 2015
Dr. Drew Polly Speaks On Math Technologies In The ClassroomDr. Drew Polly is an associate professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research agenda focuses on examining how to support the implementation of technology and standards-based pedagogies. He is editor of the recent titles Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education and Professional Development Schools and Transformative Partnerships. Dr. Polly recently took some time to participate in an interview with IGI Global Promotions Coordinator, Ann Lupold, on his research in implementing technologies in the classroom.


Tell us about yourself. How did you find yourself involved in the study of technology integration in education?

As an elementary school teacher in Virginia (1999-2002), I was fortunate to be part of a Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) project. A group of my colleagues and I as current teachers participated in ongoing professional development to work with college students to design technology-rich activities for our students. When I went to graduate school in Georgia (2002-2006), I began working with faculty there on how to best support teachers’ integration of technology in their classrooms.

Since coming to UNC Charlotte (2006-present) I have been able to work with school districts and future teachers on how to integrate technology to improve teaching and their students’ learning. Most of my technology integration work has been around how to use technology to support mathematics instruction.

Tell us a little about your most recent book Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education. What are the most important issues addressed?

Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Educationis an edited volume comprised of a well-rounded collection of cases, research studies, and conceptual chapters about how technology can support mathematics teaching and learning. Some of the most important issues in the book involve moving past just teachers’ mere use of technology and examining how to leverage technology to support the creation and manipulation of dynamic mathematical representations, students’ mathematical reasoning, and discourse in the classroom. There are also a few chapters that focus on how students’ interaction with technology has influenced their mathematical understanding and achievement, which has been and will continue to be an important issue in education.

What findings have you found most fascinating in your research of interactive technologies in the classroom?

The most interesting part of my research has been the opportunity to examine how to best support teachers’ integration of learning technologies in their mathematics classroom. Specifically, being able to see teachers’ use of technology and high-level mathematical tasks to enhance their instruction and improve their students’ learning has been beneficial. Recently, it has been interesting to analyze the types of mathematical tasks that teachers pose when their students use mobile applications on iPads, interactive whiteboards, or computers in their classroom. Just using technology is not enough, and we have found that the types of activities that students do with the technology means so much more than just using technology for the sake of using it.

In terms of the book, the most interesting part that was despite having multiple authors from various locations writing about a myriad of ideas and projects, all of the chapters have a central focus of how the use of technology can support the teaching and learning of mathematics.

How do you see technology changing classrooms in the future? How will this impact students and teachers?

In the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the number of mobile and hand-held technologies in classrooms. The number of these devices will continue to grow, giving teachers more access to technology than ever before. However, there still remains a need to provide current and future teachers with support in identifying what effective technology-enhanced learning looks like, and help them to construct a better understanding about how to identify potentially effective technologies. In addition, there still remains a need to work with teachers about how to best use technologies with their students.

Do you see mathematics as an easier or more difficult subject in which to implement classroom technologies?

Teachers with increased access to technology in their mathematics classrooms have more opportunity to support the processes of teaching and learning, so it can be both easier and more difficult. As teachers begin to think about how to integrate technology into their mathematics classroom, they need to make sure that they have identified a need for the technology as it specifically relates to enhancing teaching and students’ mathematics learning. Adding technology just because teachers have access to it is not the road to effective technology integration. Further, teachers need to consider the recommendations from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and think about how technology can create opportunities for students to generate mathematical representations, explore mathematical tasks more deeply, make connections between mathematics concepts, and communicate more effectively about their mathematics learning.

Who could most benefit from your book?

The book Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education would benefit any educator, educational leader, teacher educator, or educational researcher whose work deals with mathematics teaching and learning. The book includes a wide variety of chapters across grade levels and mathematical concepts so that it should be valuable to a wide audience of potential readers.

Is there any message you would like to give to your readers as it pertains to your research?

The chapters in the book are a collection of the valuable work of multiple individuals who contributed. Without the contribution of the authors as well as the teachers and students who worked with the authors, this book would not nearly be as strong of a product as it turned out to be.


Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education is a casebook featured in IGI Global Teaching Cases, a collection of reference sources comprised of real-life case studies featuring an executive summary, project description, epilogue, additional resources for further research, as well as teaching notes with questions and answers for discussion. Relevant and comprehensive, Teaching Cases allow instructors to combine theory with experience by promoting analytical thinking and classroom discussion. Contact Customer Service at cust@igi-global.com or 717-533-8845 x100 for purchasing information. Or request an examination copy of this title to review before adopting for your classroom.

Contact: Ann Lupold
Promotions Coordinator
IGI Global
701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA 17033
717-533-8845 x132
alupold@igi-global.com
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