Can You Learn Mathematics in a Virtual Model?

A virtual learning model also promotes opportunities that make students’ cognitive processes more efficient.

In a distance education model unprecedented in the history of primary education, the question arises whether the teaching-learning process is taking place in the virtual classroom. Researching and analyzing whether the activities we provide students to achieve the expected learning is one of the main questions I wonder when I plan a math class at the secondary level.

Before the pandemic, we struggled to maintain an optimal level of motivation in classes. However, today other factors come into play that students must deal with, like not having a good internet connection, sharing computer equipment with siblings or family, having a family member sick with COVID, living in a family environment with much stress. These things, coupled with missing the social connections and affective bonds in the classroom, certainly affect students’ performance and willingness to learn, regardless of the area of knowledge involved.

“Help students to understand mathematical processes more than the result itself. This experience serves to create new educational materials that are useful in understanding and solving problems while reinforcing the topics seen in class.”

In teaching mathematics, teachers face another challenge, the countless applications that allow students to obtain the result without performing a single mathematical process. It is not a bad thing if they develop mathematical, logical thinking to solve more complex problems. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. Therefore, it is essential to teach students to internalize and systematize a process to propose alternatives to solve any problem they confront.

Tips to improve your virtual mathematics class

The virtual learning model allowed us to think outside the box using technology to maintain appropriate motivation in the students. I emphasized designing and planning my classes, from improving my videos channel to organizing content to motivate the students in their learning process. Here are four tips for improving your virtual math class:

1. Generate affective bonds in the class.

2. Create educational materials that emphasize the learning process more than the results.

3. Use technology as your ally.

4. Get students to demonstrate what they have learned. 

Generate affective bonds in the class

Monitor the emotional state of your students. It makes the subjects more human and closer to them. Start with a TikTok or Mentimeter survey to know how they are emotional, to involve them gradually in the subject.

Another effective way to connect them emotionally is through music. Request that they propose in the virtual chat field which song they would like to hear while the class begins, thus, involving the students as they enter. You can also use videos that generate questions that naturally lead into the subject without making the students feel they are already in class. Tell them how important and accurate their comments are in each feedback, making them feel confident to participate; they will see that you are interested in their views.

Create educational materials that emphasize the learning process more than the results

Design activities that favor the construction of knowledge to achieve the expected learning. It integrates knowledge, pedagogy, and technology.  A pivotal moment in developing educational materials is to establish feedback times. The feedback helps the students improve and internalize the learning processes in each activity. It helps them remember, understand, apply, and analyze what you provide them, going beyond just prioritizing the result.

I implemented a methodology in my class that leads students to build their knowledge through maieutics, asking questions like: What does the problem ask? What is the relationship between the problem data and base data? What is the limitation of the problem? With what mathematical model or operation do I reach the limit? Click here to check my students’ videos following this methodology to understand the mathematical concepts necessary to approach problems.

When developing new educational material, consider the following:

1. The expected learning.

2. Which pedagogy best supports that learning, for example, gamification, project-based learning, problem-based learning, etc.

3. What technology is more suitable for learning that creates an environment that motivates students to learn.

Additionally, it has served me to implement gamification in my class. It is an educational approach that promotes healthy competition and can be taken to a virtual environment. It involves integrating game elements such as points systems, incentives, and rewards when certain activities are completed. The students have the freedom to make mistakes, receive feedback, know the goals and objectives that they must achieve, among many other benefits. You can adapt the gaming elements that best suit your class dynamics.

Use technology as your ally

As we saw in the previous tip, each educational material must be explicit about the expected learning objective, which helps to think about which technology would be the most relevant to use. Here I share this document I composed, classifying the educational applications that helped me in the course. If we spend some time to know the technologies we have at hand and use them as an allied tool, it lets us create a pleasant atmosphere in class.

Some technologies applied in my class were: 1) Kahoot – systematically learning the rules of the notable product. 2) Quizizz – to emphasize the processes for solving second-degree equations by the formula method. 3) Nearpod – to make materials for asynchronous classes. In this application, students could reinforce the methodology seen in class and move forward at their own pace, making learning more flexible, emphasizing the solution process. Other Nearpod utilities are the use of slides, whiteboards, and 3D models, and even the possibility to use videos that I made previously, which students could find on my channel.

It is essential to know the purpose of each tool or technological application is. Some help us in learning and knowledge, such as Kahoot, Geogebra, and Edpuzzle. Others are information technologies such as computers, cell phones, Office, and Google Suite. Others serve for empowerment and participation, like YouTube and TikTok. Knowing this, you can make technology your ally in learning.

Get students to demonstrate what they have learned

Students can also learn from other classmates. To complement the learning process in my class, I assign the students a different problem to resolve from the rest of the class. This activity serves to reinforce the concepts learned while helping their classmates in comprehension and problem-solving through three steps:

1. The teacher assigns the problem to the students. The student solves the problem on a sheet of paper using the methodology seen in class to be reviewed by the teacher.

2. The student makes a presentation in PowerPoint or Google Slides. To solve the problem, the student must integrate the changes suggested by the teacher to eliminate possible errors. The presentation should be created using the steps of the mathematical problem-solving methodology proposed by the professor.

3. The student prepares a video tutorial. In this video, the student explains the problem assigned to him using the presentation he elaborated, paying attention to aspects such as communicating, explaining, and synthesizing.

It produces metacognition in the students since they learn to do, learn how to learn, and know that they know, creating meaningful and lasting learning. They have five minutes to explain the problem. They must synthesize and explain clearly. They develop the problem-solving and digital skills that lead them to craft the presentation, video, and editing.

All the students’ work is uploaded to Google Sites to view the explanations of the different problems, creating a learning community. Families can also verify that their children are learning and developing communication, problem-solving and digital skills, among others.

Reflection

To answer the initial question of the article, can you learn math in a virtual learning environment? The answer is yes. We can learn and teach mathematics in a virtual environment. The key is to think about the needs of the students, reflect and empathize with them, create affective bonds, and maintain constant communication. It is vital to understand that technology is not the end; it is a means to use to our advantage to teach, helping students understand mathematical processes, which is more valuable than merely obtaining the result. This experience creates new educational materials that help students understand and solve problems while reinforcing the topics seen in class at the pace they require. The above demonstrates that the virtual learning model provides opportunities to streamline students’ cognitive processes.

As teachers, we must stay updated and informed about who our students are, what they are looking for, their generational characteristics, what they need to help them meet their learning goals and objectives, and the technological applications available to achieve them. I invite the teaching community to contact me with any suggestions or questions regarding the material in this article.

About the author

Santos Antonio Vergara Ramírez (smatematico@escuelacontinental.edu.mx) is Academic Director at the Continental School in Mexico City, which has preschool, primary, and secondary levels. He has taught mathematics at the secondary level from 1987 to the present. He is the author of three workbooks for teaching mathematics in high school.

Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Observatory of Educational Innovation.

Translation by Daniel Wetta.

Santos Antonio Vergara Ramírez

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0