2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

activities was not currently required by all instructors; this may have influenced students’perceived usefulness and actual interaction.When teachers and administrators are making decisions regarding the online option for theirstudents, considerations need to be made with respect to synchronous and asynchronousinteractions. This study revealed that the importance of a strong interactive mathematicscurriculum is vital for student achievement. Students need the opportunity to not only passivelyread a rich mathematical content, but also be an active participant engaging in simulations thatallows for the transfer of mathematical knowledge to mathematical practice and application.This study also revealed that the use of threaded discussion boards should be done withcaution. Threaded discussion boards can be a powerful tool if used properly. Teachers andstudents can engage in rich mathematical dialogue within the comforts of their own time andlearning environments. Participants can thoroughly research questions and answers beforeengaging and responding, thereby strengthen the mathematical dialogue.Finally this study showed the power of synchronous interactions. Online course are oftenused to remediate mathematics skills to the most struggling students. Often students are givenaccess to software in to supplement the current learning environment. However students,especially low-level students should not be learning online in complete isolation. As seen fromthis study, algebra and pre-algebra benefited from the synchronous interactions. Students wereable to directly ask their questions in real-time, there by fostering deeper relationships with theirteacher.There is limited in research pertaining to online learning, specifically learning mathematics.Future research must focus not only on higher education, but more importantly on the k-12learning population. This study showed the importance of interactions in general, but futurestudies are necessarily to find the power of such interactions. Future investigations must studyeach interaction, and combination of, as they influence not only the perception of learningmathematics, but also overall mathematical achievement.ReferencesAnderson, T. (2003). Getting the mix right again: An updated and theoretical rationale forinteraction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4(2), 1-14.Anderson, T., & Kuskis, A. (2007). Modes of interaction. In M. G. Moore (Ed.), Handbook ofdistance education (2 nd ed.). (pp. 295-310). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Collison, G., Elbaum, B., Haavind, S., & Tinker, R. (2000). Facilitating online learning.Madison, Wisconsin: Atwood Publishing.Proceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 169