The effects of using technology to teach African-American developmental college intermediate algebra students how to solve linear equations

Algebra has been identified as the foundational course for all other mathematics courses. Students who have not mastered algebra are not successful in courses such as physics, chemistry and computer programming. Employees who have been successful in mathematics are in high demand with higher salaries.; Overall, more students have enrolled in developmental mathematics courses than any other developmental course and colleges have enrolled more under prepared African-American students into developmental courses than any other race. Research has shown that African-American students are low achievers in mathematics with little appreciation for its usefulness. They have been known to have little confidence to succeed in mathematics while suffering high levels of anxiety.; Computers have been marketed as an instructional tool to teach, motivate and reinforce classroom instructions. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has stressed the necessity of technology for all students in every mathematics classroom. This study investigated the effects of using an integrated learning system to teach African-American developmental intermediate algebra students how to solve linear equations. The achievement results of African-American students who used the computer were compared with African-American students who were taught in a traditional classroom and cooperative learning environment. The attitude of the students towards the usefulness of mathematics, their confidence to do mathematics and their anxiety about mathematics was also investigated. The two-semester achievement study and one-semester attitudinal study occurred in a four-year historically African-American institution. A pretest and posttest produced the achievement results and the attitudinal results were investigated using the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales survey.; One hundred twenty-one students participated in the achievement study and twelve students participated in the attitude study. Univariate analysis of variance and paired-sample t tests were issued to produce the findings from this study. No significant achievement differences were found between the two groups. A significant achievement difference did occur within the control and the experimental group. No significant difference was found in the students' attitude about the usefulness of mathematics and their confidence to succeed in mathematics. There was a significant difference in the students' anxiety towards mathematics. The students' became more anxious towards mathematics after using the computer.