ICT integration into primary school English and Mathematics

Tay, L. Y., Lim, S. K., Lim, C. P., & Koh, J. H. L. (2012). Pedagogical approaches for ICT integration into primary school English and mathematics: A Singapore case study. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(4), 740-754.

Background

According to the authors, literature suggested that the teaching of English and mathematics could take various forms – learning from and with information communication technology (ICT), with or without production (i.e., students’ creation of digital work), and with or without collaboration amongst students. The literature also highlighted that integrating ICT into the classroom depended on individual teachers, and the schools’ contextual factors, as well as teachers’ beliefs.

Aims

The case reported on in the paper explored how ICT was integrated into the teaching of English and mathematics in a primary school. It also investigated whether there was a difference in the pedagogical approach adopted by the teachers using ICT for the teaching of English and mathematics.

Sample

The participants were 225 Primary 4 students and the teachers teaching them.

Method

Data collected included reviews of research reports, conference presentations and lesson plans produced by the teachers involved, interviews with the teachers and students, and a student self-reported questionnaire.

Findings

The results indicated that learning from ICT was predominantly transmissive, without production and without collaboration. There were significant differences in the frequency of ICT use across the various English and mathematics classes. The students also reported less ICT use in mathematics classes than English classes but they used online games and applets more often in their learning of mathematics than of English. In general, the teaching of mathematics took on a more learning from ICT and transmissive pedagogical approach with fewer learning with ICT, dialogic, constructionist and co-constructionist approaches. This was attributed to the nature of mathematics and how the students were assessed. The regular reinforcement of basic arithmetic skills required more ‘drill and practice’ through the use of quizzes found within the learning from online educational games. In the teaching of English, the teachers deployed a wider variety of pedagogical approaches compared to the mathematics teachers. Both learning from and learning with technology approaches were used. Features of transmissive, dialogic, constructionist and co-constructionist approaches were present. Online software applications provided opportunities for the students to individually construct their stories and collaborate with their peers and teachers.

Implications

The authors highlighted the benefits of using the learning from and learning with ICT perspectives as they illustrated how ICT could be used and integrated. These perspectives could be used to extend the educational technology framework and theory.

Original article retrieved from Google Scholar.