Interactive whiteboards produce small gains in elementary students' self-reported motivation in mathematics

0360-1315/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.08.019 * Corresponding address: Department of Curricul United States. Tel.: +1 516 463 5803; fax: +1 516 E-mail address: [email protected] (B. Torff). A treatment/control study (N = 773) was conducted to determine the extent to which use of interactive whiteboard technology (IWB) was associated with upper elementary students’ self-reported level of motivation in mathematics. Students in the treatment group reported higher levels of motivation relative to control students, but the effect was extremely weak. Students with teachers who were more supportive of IWB technology reported higher motivation levels (compared to students of teachers who were less supportive), but this effect also was very small. Claims about the motivation-enhancing effects of the IWB are not baseless, but they appear to be somewhat overstated. Research is needed to determine how IWBuse is associated with academic performance, and also to examine how teachers use the IWB and how this usage could be strengthened. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.