The Effect of Using the Interactive Whiteboard in Teaching Mathematics on Mathematical Representation and Problem Solving among Tenth Grade Students

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of using the interactive whiteboard in teaching mathematics on mathematical representation and problem-solving skills among tenth-grade students in the Sultanate of Oman. To achieve the study objectives, a quasi-experimental design based on an experimental and a control group was employed. The study sample consisted of (40) tenth-grade students from the Institute of Islamic Sciences in Salalah, where the experimental group (20 students) was taught using the interactive whiteboard, while the control group (20 students) was taught using the conventional teaching method. The study instruments included two tests designed to measure mathematical representation and problem-solving skills. The validity and reliability of the instruments were verified using appropriate statistical procedures.

The results revealed no statistically significant differences at the significance level (α = 0.05) between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in both mathematical representation and problem-solving skills, despite a slight superiority in the mean scores in favor of the experimental group. The researchers attributed the lack of statistically significant differences to the short duration of the experimental intervention, the small sample size, and the limited training on the use of the interactive whiteboard. Accordingly, the study recommended extending the duration of technology-based interventions in educational research, intensifying professional development workshops for teachers, and focusing on training teachers to effectively integrate interactive whiteboards to enhance higher-order thinking skills. The study also suggested conducting future research with longer implementation periods and larger samples, as well as investigating the impact of educational technology on affective variables such as motivation and attitudes toward learning.