Blogging mathematics: Using technology to support mathematical explanations for learning fractions

Explanations with others help students learn yet little is known about how technology can support and augment these benefits. This paper describes an experiment that compared the effects of mathematical discourse (i.e., explaining, justifying, and arguing) with peers either face-to-face or using technology (a blog) on fraction learning. We hypothesized that blogs may provide benefits beyond face-to-face collaborations because a record of explanations is accessible for subsequent reflection, which allows students to revisit and revise their explanations. A quasi-experimental design with 134 fifth grade students (ages 9-11) was used to investigate the change in conceptual and procedural knowledge of fractions measured as change from pretest to posttest and delayed posttest. The results indicated that students in the blog condition showed the largest gains in conceptual knowledge from pretest to posttest and at delayed posttest. There was no significant difference between groups on procedural knowledge. The results suggest that the use of blogs may provide unique supports for learning because students are provided opportunities to explain, justify, and argue their thinking, as well as critique the reasoning of others through an interactive learning environment that affords the opportunity to clarify understandings and misconceptions that may not otherwise exist in a traditional face-to-face learning environment.