The study focused on three research questions:
- What is the effect of the use of the TI-Navigator technology on eighth-grade Algebra I students’ achievement in the areas of graphing, solving systems of equations, and solving linear equations?
- What is the effect of the use of the TI-Navigator technology on eighth-grade Algebra I students’ attitudes and beliefs about the use of calculators and other technology in mathematics, specifically algebra?
- What is the effect of the use of the TI-Navigator technology on eighth-grade Algebra I students’ interactions during mathematics class?
Two eighth-grade algebra classes were matched in terms of gender and achievement levels by a random process used at the project site. One class was randomly selected to be
the control group and the other designated as the experimental group. The control group class used calculators as appropriate to their regular curricular program but were not
given access to the TI-Navigator technology. The experimental class used the TINavigator
technology daily for two months during the two chapters designated in this study. The calculator used in both classes with the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition. Each student was assigned a calculator for use at school but may not have had access at home.
Pre-and post-tests on content knowledge were administered at the appropriate times concurrently with an attitudinal survey. Daily classroom observations were also conducted and recorded using an observation protocol.
This summary reports the statistical data taken from the two administrations of the content knowledge tests. The description of how the appropriate statistical procedure was
selected is included.