denny Study & Teaching books

Hand-held technology can help to improve primary pupils' learning of grammar, according to a new study by the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) at the University of York. www.learningclip.co.uk Researchers at the IEE conducted a large randomised evaluation in more than 40 primary schools of the use of Questions for Learning (QfL), a technology-enhanced, self-paced learning tool. It was found to enhance grammar achievement and was particularly effective for average- and low-achieving pupils. If these results held over a school year, these pupils would make between three and four months of additional progress. In QfL each pupil responds to progressively more difficult questions that are presented on Promethean ActivExpression wireless hand-held devices at the rate that the pupil answers them. This allows both more advanced and weaker pupils to answer in a private way at a pace appropriate to them. Pupils receive immediate feedback on their hand-sets on whether or not their answers are correct while the teacher sees a developing chart on his or her computer screen, showing how each pupil is performing. The teacher can then intervene immediately to support struggling pupils and identify which aspects of the curriculum require revisiting or re-teaching. Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of short exposure to QfL on learning of grammatical concepts. The evaluation took place over 12 weeks from January to May 2012. One Year 5 class from each of 42 primary schools in ...