Ian Fisher

How Information Technology Supports Boys’ Creativity in Math
See Mr. Fisher’s action research poster here.

Ian Fisher is a teacher in the Lower School at Crescent. He conducted his action research project in 2013.

What question did your action research explore?
How does the use of information technology affect student creativity in mathematics? In particular, I examined the impact of the Google SketchUp software program.

What was your key finding?
Using Google SketchUp removed the stress of making mistakes. This allowed the students to take risks as they created shapes and took measurements for a measurement-and-geometry assignment, because the software allowed them to make changes and edit their creations with greater ease than if they were to work with pen and paper.

How did the research process enhance your approach to teaching?
Going through this research process was a good exercise for me as a teacher. It provided me with a framework for making changes to my teaching practice and assessing the impact that it has on student learning. I want to continue exploring new ways of exploring math concepts with students and finding alternative ways of assessing student learning.
Back