The Tablet in the Classroom Can Work Wonders, but Only with Teachers' Support
The average performance of Italian high school students involved in the trials sponsored by the ImparaDigitale association (using the tablet in class in lieu of textbooks, relying on certified online resources) is 3% higher than that of other classes of the same schools not involved in the trial. But when students perceive strong support, involvement and encouragement from teachers, the performance can increase by 20%. This was revealed by a monitoring of the ImparaDigitale trials performed by three Bocconi scholars of Organization (Leonardo Caporarello, Massimo Magni and Ferdinando Pennarola), published in When Teachers Support Students in Technology Mediated Learning.
"The technologies, by themselves, can't revolutionize teaching and learning, but they can obtain amazing results when there is strong teachers' support. The central feature of the digital revolution is, in short, the human factor,"says Pennarola.
The analysis looks at a sample of 370 students from trial classes and monitors every single mark (all written tests and oral examinations) for an entire school year, as well as the responses to two questionnaires on their learning experience. When possible, the performance is compared with that of other classes of the same school, not exposed to the trial.
When you consider only schools with experimental and non-experimental classes, the average grade of those who use the tablet is only marginally better (6.9 versus 6.7 in a scale from 1 to 10), but the questionnaire allows for more sophisticated analysis, which reveals that not all kids get the same advantage. The best students, already sufficiently motivated, do not seem to reap great benefits from the use of technologies, while all the others – and especially those with average marks - benefit more. The performance difference is accentuated for classes in which students receive strong support from professors. At the intersection of the two effects (students with average marks in a class with strong support) performance improvement can even reach 20%.
"The introduction of the tablet must involve a change in teaching methods," explains Pennarola, "which has to become much more cooperative, giving priority to teamwork and coordination. Training the teachers, who are the pivotal element of the success or failure of innovation, is thus essential."
The experiment has proved very positive in humanities and more difficult in mathematics, because the use of new technologies in this subject involves major changes in teaching and learning methods.
In the school year that begins in these days in Italy trials in the use of tablets in classes promoted by ImparaDigitale will involve about 10,000 students.