Isatt2013 juli 4

#ISATT2013

Can mobile technologies mobilize teaching and learning? An exploratory study of teachers’ thoughts and practices

concerning the use of tablet PC’s

Natalie Pareja RoblinJo TondeurJohan van Braak Ghent University

Joke VoogtPetra FisserUniversity of Twente

Griet MathieuBram BruggemanHet Perspectief

Tablets in the public spotlight…

Little attention to teachers’ perceptions

Would it fit with my

course content?

What can we

achieve with

them?

How should we use them?

Goals of the study

• Analyze the ways in which teachers use tablets in their teaching practice.

• Understand the rationality underlying teachers’ decisions regarding the use of tablets in their teaching practice.

How?

Why?

Practicality Ethic(Doyle & Ponder 1977; Janssen et al., 2013)

– Expression of teachers perceptions of the potential consequences of attempting to implement a change proposal in the classroom.

– Central ingredient in the initial decision teachers make regarding the implementation of a proposed change in classroom procedures.

Practicality Ethic(Doyle & Ponder, 1977)

INSTRUMENTALITY Specification of procedures that

have classroom validity

COSTS/BENEFITSRelationship between effort and

resources required and the return teachers might expect from it

CONGRUENCECorrespondace with teachers’

present teaching philosophy and practice

Research contextProject: “Path to the digital world in the class”

• 3 technical/vocational secondary schools in East Flanders (n= 9 teachers).

• Each school received 16 tablets for a period of 3 to 4 weeks.

• External support:• Kick off session• Workshop about tablets

and apps • Online support

Research contextCharacteristic School 1 School 2 School 3

Number of students 414 720 500

Number of teachers 75 120 100

Subjects involved in the project

DutchHistory

Public Relations

DutchHistory

Mathematics

FrenchBikes

Bikes & Motors

# StudentsYearSpecialization

9 students6th year

Public Relations

9 students4th year

Technical Sciences

7 students5th year

Auto motors

Period where tablets were used

April – May 2012 May - June 2012 September – October 2012

Remarks Tablets remain in the school

*Workshop for students

*Students take tablets home

Tablets remain in the school

Methodology• Exploratory multiple case study (Yin, 2003)

– Case School (n=3)– Units of analysis teachers (n=9)

• Data sources

Why?

• 14 classroom observations

• 9 teacher reflections• 3 focus group discussions• 9 recall interviews

How?

• Data analysis– Deductive + inductive analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994)– Constant comparisons (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000)

ParticipantsSchool Teacher Age Teaching

experience in years

Subject # Lessons taught with

tablets

Personal tablet

School 1 Karen 33 8 History 4 (1h) No

Laura 51 26 Dutch 3 (2h) No

Susan 42 17 Public Relations

1 (4h) No

School 2 Valerie 48 11 Dutch 5 (2h) Yes

Martha 57 32 History 3 (1h) Yes

Melanie 60 25 Mathematics 3 (2h) Yes

School 3 Wouter 37 5 Bikes & motors

4 (2h) No

Frans 39 4 Bikes 3 (2h) No

Bert 50 28 French 3 (2h) No

USES OF TABLETS

Results

How?

Fix a bike with the help of a tutorial

Search for and critically assess information on the internet

Film and critically assess their own presentations

Draw a time line of historic events

Make a movie-clip with the characteristics of first films

Ove

rvie

w o

f mai

n ty

pes

of u

ses

EXAMPLES OF TABLET USEVideo

TEACHERS’ PRACTICALITY CONSIDERATIONS

Results

Why?

CongruenceExtent to which the use of tablets is aligned with teachers’ present teaching philosophy

and practices

Compatibility with:•Content

•Available apps

•Previous ICT use

•Personal goals/intentions“When the project started, one thinks about ones lessons and how to force the apps into them. But then I turned this around, I looked first at the apps and at what I wanted to

teach, and what I could do with this app to achieve it. Then it works much better, I believe” (Valerie, S2)

Congruence

Similar activity, different technology

Similar activity, different context

Similar activity, different roles

Similar activity, new elements

DAILY PRACTICE

Congruence





“[...] I used to do that [filming students’ presentations] with the video camera […] But now we were able to do it in a different way. I also let my students take turns in recording small movie clips, but they now had their own video material on their tablet …” (Susan, S1)

DAILY PRACTICE

Congruence





“Normally I would have given this [search on the Internet ] for homework, so I would have not been able to do this in the classroom, but thanks to the tablet …” (Valerie, S2)

DAILY PRACTICE

Natalie

Clarify what she did as homework in brackets

Congruence





“One needs to just supervise them more with the apps and the rest they can do more independently, I think” (Wouter, S3)

“I believe that it turns into a more informal communication […] they [students] help you and you are in a position that you almost know as much as they do” (Valerie, S2)

DAILY PRACTICE

Congruence





“I also always give that lesson [about the history of films], but in a totally different way […] for so long I found it a missed opportunity that so little creativity is addressed, and this seemed to me the right moment to give it a try […] I let them create a short movie clip in which they apply the characteristics of first films” (Karen, S1)

DAILY PRACTICE

Benefits – Student learningTeachers’ perceptions about the advantages of using tablets in their teaching practice

Motivation (?)

Active involvement

New competences

“They were obviously more enthusiastic, but the question is whether that was because it was something new for them” (Bert, S3)

“They can now do something creative and that is also what I liked so much about it, that you see talents of students that would have otherwise not been seen”(Karen, S1)

Benefits – Teaching

“[…] you can combine quite a lot of it by using the tablet, because then you have that for ICT, for ongoing issues, you have connection to the

internet, you can easily integrate that in your lessons”

(Valerie, S2)

“That they can see each other […] then they can also see and hear the results of other

groups, for that it is very interesting”(Bert, S3)

Increased interaction with

and between students

Diversity

ICT integration:

efficient/flexible

Benefits – Teaching

Contributions to improve student learning?

Added value in relation to other media?

“Purely taken that was, well, I won´t say a waste of time because it is always good for that basic vocabulary, that can never harm, but it did not really connect to those things they need to know” (Bert, S3)

“I will be honest, I can do a better job with that on my active board. On my active board I have the entire class, so I put on my Google and show it to them” (Martha, S2)

CostsTeachers estimation of the extra effort, time and risks associated with the use of

tablets in their teaching practice

Langua

ge

Technical skills

Finding (suitable) appsTPACK

“At home I looked what [apps] I could use, I found that to be very frustrating” (Valerie, S2)

“The searching for apps, looking for what fitted best to the lesson content. So, looking what I could use, that cost the most time, was the hardest” (Melanie, S2)

Time

CostsTeachers estimation of the extra effort, time and risks associated with the use of

tablets in their teaching practice

Loss of control over:•Ways in which lessons unfold

•Classroom management

“In groups that I have of 24 students it would be much harder. That I can hardly see myself being able to control”(Martha, S2)

“At this moment I have very tough classes, very large groups and I do not find them ready to work with it right now, so I will certainly not risk it now” (Laura, S1)

Conclusions and discussion• Tablets were used in ways that aligned with previous practices: only minor

changes were made.

• Access to (suitable) apps, and integration with course content (TPACK) are perceived as major challenges for integrating tablets.

• The costs (e.g. finding suitable apps) and risks (e.g. classroom management) of integrating tablets were experienced by most teachers as higher than the perceived potential benefits for student learning and for their own instructional practices (cf. McGrail, 2005).

• How can professional development programs:– help teachers see and understand the ways in which tablets can be used to facilitate

teaching and learning?

– inspire and challenge long held routines and beliefs?

– contribute to bridge practicality considerations and change? (cf. Janssen et al., 2013)

#ISATT2013

THANK YOU!

Contact:Natalie Pareja Roblin: [email protected]

Jo Tondeur: [email protected]

Griet Mathieu: [email protected] Bram Bruggeman: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




Education

Isatt2013 juli 4