Between 1999 and 2003 a project was carried out
in eight upper secondary schools in Thuringia (one of the 16 German
states) to investigate the effects the use of CAS technology in
mathematics education has on math skills. In 2002 a survey of all
students (N = 1014) in the project schools took place. The main part of
the one-page questionnaire consisted of eight statements – seven related
to the effects of using a handheld CAS in math and science lessons and
one general statement about math lessons.
Since 2003 each school in Thuringia can decide if a handheld CAS is
used in mathematics education or not. One year later more than a quarter
of all Thuringian upper secondary schools used CAS in mathematics
classes. The 2002 survey was carried out again in 2005, this time with
1679 students.
Results of the two surveys will be analyzed and compared. Special
focus will be on the question if certain characteristics of the students
(e.g. their gender or how good they are in mathematics) influenced
their answers. |