Using affordances and constraints to evaluate the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning

Abstract

Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of information and communications technology (ICT) on the quality of learning is highly problematic, owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in settings for teaching and learning. Yet, for those responsible for allocating large sums of money to the development of ICT in education, it is important to identify, characterise, measure and model more precisely the features and processes through which technology impacts upon teaching and learning activities. This article offers a framework for analysing the effects of ICT in combination with the other factors which may enhance or ameliorate the positive impact of ICT in the classroom and beyond. This framework is applicable to different levels of evaluation, including large scale curriculum development programmes, curriculum and pedagogical change in particular schools, and individual teachers' planning and reflection. Its use in evaluating new ICT-based teaching approaches at classroom level is illustrated and analysed in the context of an in-service teacher education programme in the United Kingdom, and suggestions are made concerning the development of evaluation tools based on the framework.

Developing an ICT capability for learning

“…The learners utilise the affordances and constraints of the setting, such as those provided by ICT, in combination with their existing abilities in the subject matter to be learned, and in generic skills such as ICT capability. Those abilities, together with the affordances and constraints of the setting, provide both potential and structure for activity (Kennewell 2001). For example, when children are learning about the process of volcano eruption, they may use an encyclopaedia on a CD-ROM.…”

“…Evaluations of the role of leT in learning must consider different perspectives (Squires and MacDougall 1994) and recognise that the influence of leT is dependent on the leT capability of the user (Kennewell 2001). What the user knows about leT affects the quality and quantity of the learning with leT.…”

Multiple Realities, Multiple Representations, Multiple Selves: Re-Conceptualizing Authenticity in Designing Language Tasks as Deictic Practice

“…Here Petraglia, in what he called "authenticity paradox", argues against such a conception by emphasizing the fact that the differences in the mental representations of tasks in the learning and target situations have almost always been ignored (1998). Representation is "re-experiencing the situation in the imagination" which is based on the "affordances (attributes of the supporting features) and the constraints (the structure imposed by the setting [that] may facilitate task progress)" (Kennewell, et al, 2000;Kennewell, 2001;Bossard et al, 2008). According to Kennewell, for the learning tasks and situations to be authentic, both affordances and the constraints embodied in those settings should engage the learners in the multiple representations which are inherent in the human interactions with the environment.…”

Developing Research Models for ICT-Based Pedagogy

“…Where the teacher has a direct role in the orchestration of the setting, this may be planned in advance (proactive) or may be contingent on the continuous stream of events in the classroom (reactive) (Kennewell 2001). Where ICT is used, the orchestration may be completely delegated (in the case of an Integrated Learning System) or shared (in the case of a Virtual Learning Environment).…”

“…One possible design for a PI model involves the analysis of affordances and constraints (Kennewell 2001). Affordances are the attributes of the setting which provide potential for action; constraints are the conditions and relationships amongst attributes which provide structure and guidance for the course of actions.…”