Because of performance disparities in academic achievement between English Language Learners (ELL) and regular (non-ELL) students documented by the US National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) decided to implement the Digital Learning Classroom project which is an initiative focused on the improvement of English Language Learners' learning using interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology.
The two main objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the extent IWB technology could foster performance equality in academic achievement between ELL and non-ELL students, and (2) to determine whether and the extent to which the Digital Learning Classroom could increase ELL students' academic learning relative to that of ELL students in traditional classrooms without IWBs.
Five teachers, from the third and fifth grade levels, were selected among three different schools in the RRISD based on their willingness to undertake the intensive on-going technology training, ability to design new untried curriculum materials build around the IWB technology, and confidence to self-initiate changes in instructional practices. A quasi-experimental evaluation research design consisted of two sources of student-level data: the district's benchmark test data for mathematics and reading from fall 2006 and TAKS test data for mathematics and reading from spring 2007.
According to Lopez (2010), performance equality was not achieved between ELL and non-ELL students in traditional classrooms. ELL students had lower rates of passing the TAKS tests than non-ELL students in each grade. The results strongly suggest that performance equality was achieved between ELL students in Digital Learning Classrooms and non-ELL students in traditional classrooms. There is evidence which suggests that the Digital Learning Classroom increased student achievement for ELL students compared to ELL students in traditional classrooms.
Lopez (2010) discusses a few pedagogical implications for teachers of ELL students within the context of Digital Learning Classroom project implementation. The first implication is that the Digital Learning Classroom promotes a learner-centered pedagogy where both teacher and ELL students are learners, which allows them to jointly produce outcomes. The most obvious difference between teaching with the IWB was the teachers' use of direct instruction. Students were motivated to go to school because they wanted to "play" with the IWB and see what it could do. Both teachers and ELL students help each other with technical difficulties that arise when using the IWB. This creates a "safer" environment in which the ELL can thrive.
This article was very informative. It added to my knowledge base and will be a strong asset to my review of literature for my upcoming thesis research regarding the usage of the interactive white board and its relationship to academic achievement among ELLs. Lopez suggests recommendations for future research which I found to be really helpful. One objective could be to study the extent the Digital Learning Classroom is able to help ELL students learn more curriculum in the same unit of time than ELL students in traditional classrooms. Another objective could examine whether and the extent the Digital Learning Classroom is able to help ELL students learn a given unit of curriculum in less time than ELL students in traditional classrooms. The overall finding of this paper is that the IWB technology ultimately benefited ELL students, and may be worthwhile to use in the classroom to improve student achievement.
The two main objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the extent IWB technology could foster performance equality in academic achievement between ELL and non-ELL students, and (2) to determine whether and the extent to which the Digital Learning Classroom could increase ELL students' academic learning relative to that of ELL students in traditional classrooms without IWBs.
Five teachers, from the third and fifth grade levels, were selected among three different schools in the RRISD based on their willingness to undertake the intensive on-going technology training, ability to design new untried curriculum materials build around the IWB technology, and confidence to self-initiate changes in instructional practices. A quasi-experimental evaluation research design consisted of two sources of student-level data: the district's benchmark test data for mathematics and reading from fall 2006 and TAKS test data for mathematics and reading from spring 2007.
According to Lopez (2010), performance equality was not achieved between ELL and non-ELL students in traditional classrooms. ELL students had lower rates of passing the TAKS tests than non-ELL students in each grade. The results strongly suggest that performance equality was achieved between ELL students in Digital Learning Classrooms and non-ELL students in traditional classrooms. There is evidence which suggests that the Digital Learning Classroom increased student achievement for ELL students compared to ELL students in traditional classrooms.
Lopez (2010) discusses a few pedagogical implications for teachers of ELL students within the context of Digital Learning Classroom project implementation. The first implication is that the Digital Learning Classroom promotes a learner-centered pedagogy where both teacher and ELL students are learners, which allows them to jointly produce outcomes. The most obvious difference between teaching with the IWB was the teachers' use of direct instruction. Students were motivated to go to school because they wanted to "play" with the IWB and see what it could do. Both teachers and ELL students help each other with technical difficulties that arise when using the IWB. This creates a "safer" environment in which the ELL can thrive.
This article was very informative. It added to my knowledge base and will be a strong asset to my review of literature for my upcoming thesis research regarding the usage of the interactive white board and its relationship to academic achievement among ELLs. Lopez suggests recommendations for future research which I found to be really helpful. One objective could be to study the extent the Digital Learning Classroom is able to help ELL students learn more curriculum in the same unit of time than ELL students in traditional classrooms. Another objective could examine whether and the extent the Digital Learning Classroom is able to help ELL students learn a given unit of curriculum in less time than ELL students in traditional classrooms. The overall finding of this paper is that the IWB technology ultimately benefited ELL students, and may be worthwhile to use in the classroom to improve student achievement.
Reference
Lopez, O. (2010). The digital learning classroom: Improving English language learners' academic
success in mathematics and reading using interactive whiteboard technology. Computers &
Education, 54, 901-915. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131509002590
