Teaching Mathematics Using Interactive Whiteboards: Do the Affordances Offset the Drawbacks?

Abstract

Although schools are provided with interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to digitize classrooms in the 21st century, they are often underutilized in mathematics classrooms. Therefore, this study established whether the affordances offset the drawbacks when Grade 10 teachers use IWBs to teach mathematics. This qualitative study involved 10 Grade 10 teachers purposively selected from five public township schools in an urban district in South Africa. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were thematically analyzed. The findings revealed that most teachers use IWBs to teach mathematics because they enable the presentation of visual graphics, collaboration, online teaching, increased learner participation, easy access to teaching resources, and interaction with software such as GeoGebra. Moreover, teachers perceived IWBs  as enabling visualization, collaboration, learner participation, online teaching, and access to digital resources during mathematics instruction. However, some drawbacks to integrating IWBs for teaching included teachers’ lack of technological and pedagogical knowledge, ineffective teacher training, technical issues, and load shedding. This study highlights the importance of using IWBs for teaching mathematics, provided the drawbacks are addressed. The findings may inform future continuous professional development programs on technology integration in mathematics teaching.