Raising literacy levels using digital learning: a design‐based approach in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper reports on a design‐based intervention in urban primary and secondary schools serving culturally diverse students from low socio‐economic status (SES) communities. The intervention capitalises on a partially implemented programme in seven schools which use digital devices (netbooks) and applications to raise literacy levels. Learning and teaching measures have been used to identify effective components which can be more systematically implemented. Classroom observations were employed to provide a profile of the use and quality of the literacy instruction and to identify effective instructional practices, thereby contributing to the redesign of instruction for cluster wide implementation. The study adds to a growing number of interventions which use a design‐based approach to tackle problems associated with school effectiveness. It contributes to the identification of promising new practices and to the design of more effective instruction in the context of a national system (New Zealand) that is already generally of high quality in literacy teaching but with low equity. A specific outcome is further evidence about how new technologies and digital learning are being implemented in low SES classrooms and the relationships with valued student outcomes.

Professional Learning Community (PLC)

“…Doing so has shown promise in benefiting all students, especially students from traditionally more vulnerable populations. Where equipment and connectivity are made available, and where instruction emphasizes higher order thinking skills, ICT integration has been shown to accelerate academic achievement for minority students and students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States (Grimes & Warschauer, 2008;Larson, 2009;Mouza, 2008) and abroad (Jesson, McNaughton & Wilson, 2015).…”

“…In a two-year implementation study across six New Zealand schools serving culturally diverse students from low socio-economic communities, Jesson, McNaughton, and Wilson (2015) worked with a cross-site professional learning community to identify defining qualities of Effective Classes in terms of integrating digital devices to raise literacy levels. They found four major differences.…”

The influence of mobile technologies on preschool and elementary children’s literacy achievement: a systematic review spanning 2007–2019

“…The studies that were reviewed indicated positive gains for students when mobile technology was used to facilitate the writing process or specific skills used in writing. Mobile technologies facilitated the use of more frequent and complex vocabulary, led to increased sophisticated structures in published writing products (Dunn 2015;Liao et al 2013), efficiency and higher quality of letter formations (Patchan and Puranik 2016), and improved standardized achievement scores on writing focused assessments (Jesson et al 2015). Also present among these findings and discussions is the acknowledgement of the multimodal affordances from which students benefit when using mobile technologies.…”

“…While these differences were not as pronounced in the area of writing, researchers seem to posit that the use of affordances via mobile technologies is driven more by students' access and use, versus teacher design. Thus, students are taking advantage of the opportunities in spite of teacher design (Jesson et al 2015).…”

Características de los ambientes de aprendizaje enriquecidos con TIC para la comprensión lectora en el ciclo de la Educación Básica

“…Existe poca evidencia acerca del aumento en los desempeños de los estudiantes debido a la implementación de innovaciones con tecnologías digitales por sí mismas. Para que esto sea posible, estas deben ir acompañadas de procesos pedagógicos sólidos, puesto que la pedagogía juega el papel más importante en el diseño de los ambientes de aprendizaje para incrementar la autonomía, colaboración, personalización y potencial de creatividad (Jesson et al, 2015).…”