Date of Award

Spring 2025

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Mathematics Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Karen Graham

Second Advisor

Orly Buchbinder

Third Advisor

Sharon McCrone

Abstract

Personal devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, have become increasingly ubiquitous in undergraduate mathematics classrooms around the world. Moreover, the increased use of technology in educational contexts has provoked questions about equity in terms of student access, utilization, and the potential impact on outcomes (Hennessy & Dunham, 2008). This dissertation adds to the body of literature that addresses the overlap of personal device use and equity in undergraduate mathematics through three different methodological approaches: systematic review, quantitative inquiry, and qualitative exploration. The systematic review synthesizes 355 studies on personal device access, utilization, and outcomes in undergraduate mathematics. One key finding of the review was a lack of research on autonomous personal device use, where students have the freedom to decide how they use their personal devices. However, scholars claim autonomous personal device use is an equitable approach, as it allows students to attend to their individual learning needs (Galanek et al., 2018; Tan et al., 2019). The remaining two studies address this gap in the research and explore autonomous personal device use in an undergraduate Calculus 1 class through both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative study examines personal device access, autonomous frequency of use, and potential relationships between frequency of use and student learning outcomes. The qualitative study explores individual student interactions with personal devices, the functionality of the device in these interactions, and student perceptions around autonomous device use. The results from this research can provide valuable insights for researchers and educators on how students utilize their personal devices for mathematics and which digital resources can support equitable practices in the teaching and learning process.

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