Abstract:

In educational sector of India, during recent years, many ideas have emerged from international comparisons. This paper concerns a research project in Pune, Thane and Nasik which sought to explore how the interactive features of information and communication technology (ICT) support interactivity in teaching. The project found that much use of ICT by good teachers was at a relatively superficial level of interaction, yet when teachers used a deeper, more dialogic, level of interactivity in teaching, they achieved improvements in learning whether they used ICT or not. The potential of ICT to support more dialogic teaching was not being fully exploited.

The Interactive White Board is an ideal resource to support whole class teaching. Where teachers had been using ICT for 2 years, there was evidence that all children have made exceptional progress in attainment in class tests. Young children with limited writing skills and older pupils with special educational needs are highly motivated by being able to demonstrate their skills. These effects are greatest when they have the opportunity, individually or in small groups, for extended use of the computers rather than as part of whole class teaching. The ICT is in effect a mediating artifact in interactions between teacher and pupils.

It has also shown positive gains in literacy, mathematics and science for children aged 12 to 15, directly related to the length of time they had been taught with ICT tools. These gains were particularly strong for children of average and above average prior attainment. Classroom observations, together with teacher and pupil interviews, were used to develop a detailed account of how pedagogic practice changed. Results from the multilevel modeling enabled the researchers to visit the classrooms of teachers whose pupils had made exceptional progress and seek to identify what features of pedagogy might have helped to achieve these gains. It was also possible to examine probable reasons for the lack of impact of ICTs on the progress of low prior attainment pupils, despite their enthusiasm for the ICT and improved attention in class.

Keywords:

Information and Communication Technology, Dialogic Teaching, Interactive White Boards.