Informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) i matematiken : En studie av matematiklärarnas IKT-kompetens och dess betydelse i matematikundervisningen i gymnasieskolan 2014

Sammanfattning: ICT, i.e. information and communication technology, is today an important part of the society. ICT tools are used in many different aspects in the everyday life, for example to perform transactions in the bank or to stay in touch with relatives and friends. Not long ago, ICT also became important in the world of school. Many schools have been equipped with ICT tools, like for example a virtual learning environment, laptops for teachers and pupils or smartboards, and many other schools are planning to. Meanwhile, the teachers are trying to catch up with the development and integrate the newly introduced technology in their work. Development in this area is requested in order to not let the teachers’ ICT literacy fall behind. Therefore, the teachers’ ICT literacy in relation to the use of ICT has been studied within the frame of this thesis. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of what significance teachers’ ICT literacy may have for the organization of teaching in mathematics at three senior high schools in Stockholm during the academic year 2013/2014. The study was carried out by setting up interviews with mathematics teachers, attending one of their mathematics lessons for observation and handing out a questionnaire to the pupils at the lesson. The results obtained were analyzed and interpreted based on previous research in the area of ICT and learning and pedagogy. With the results obtained it appears that ICT tools may work as a support for pupils learning if the teachers know how and when to use the tools in their teaching. It is not enough that the teachers only work with ICT tools, but the use of ICT tools must be adapted to the pupils and with focus on their learning. In addition to that, the teachers’ ICT literacy differs in some extent. Some teachers mastered the use of ICT tools generally, for example by using computer programs, while other teachers also had knowledge of a computers’ functions and they could create programs. The teachers’ also used ICT tools in different extents. Meanwhile, it is clearly shown that their use of ICT tools is similar in the sense that the tools are used as substitutions for other existing tools, but with possible functional improvement. Since the teachers’ ICT literacy did differ while their use of ICT tools were the same, the fact that a teachers’ ICT literacy does not necessarily have significance for the organization of the mathematics teaching has been drawn as a conclusion, even though Skolverket have concluded something else in their evaluation.