The Effects of Using GeoGebra on Student Achievement in Secondary Mathematics

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), in 2010 approximately 30% of 12th grade United States (U.S.) students were proficient or advanced in mathematics, 38% were basic in mathematics, and 32% were below basic (NCES, 2013). The U.S. adopted the curricula of higher performing nations through the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS for mathematics advises teachers to integrate technology into the classroom as a manipulative to help students engage in high-level mathematical concepts. The purpose of this study was to determine if integrating GeoGebra, an iPad application, would have a positive effect on student understanding of High School Geometry. This is an experimental quantitative study with a nonequivalent pre-test and post-test design using a treatment (i.e., using GeoGebra) and a control group (i.e., not using GeoGebra). During the five-week intervention, the treatment group used GeoGebra while the control group had normal instruction. Independent and paired t-tests were conducted to determine if significant differences were found between the treatment and the control groups scores on the Module 5 math test. Based on the results, student scores improved when using the application (i.e., treatment group); however, not statistically higher than the control group. Therefore, future studies need to be conducted to continue to assess the effectiveness of using iPads during instruction.