The Effects of Using Technology to Teach Algebra

This dissertation is a report of a quantitative study on the effectiveness of using technology to teach African-American developmental students how to solve linear equations. This study was conducted at Alabama State University, a historically African-American university in the central region of Alabama. The Learning Equation (TLE) from BrooksCole Thomson Learning, Inc., was the technological tool used in this study. TLE is a Standards-based, integrated learning system software product, designed to replace the traditional textbook and lecture (BrooksCole Thomson Learning, Inc., 2001). As an instructor in the mathematics developmental department at this university, the researcher was able to solicit and receive support from the university to have TLE installed on the appropriate computers. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales was administered to determine the effect of technology on students attitudes, confidences and anxieties towards mathematics.