1. Teaching and Learning with Technology in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
- Author
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Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Carhill-Poza, Avary, Williams, Tim, and Chen, Jie
- Abstract
A mixed-methods analysis of how features of technology-enhanced classrooms affected students with linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds was undertaken at an urban secondary school with a strong ongoing commitment to student-centered uses of technology. The study used ethnographic and quantitative classroom observations to explain variation in English learner students' academic achievement and language development while taking into account the immense variability among immigrant students and their classrooms. The study was conducted because so little is known about how the needs and strengths of immigrant students are engaged through technology, particularly as it is embodied by one-to-one devices such as iPads and Chromebooks. Key findings suggest that: (1) The features of technology-enhanced classrooms that best supported language development and subject-area content mastery were aligned with student-centered learning and strengths-based teaching, explaining substantial variation in emergent bilingual students' Growth in English Proficiency and Academic Achievement; (2) unique factors from the lived experience of immigrant students affected how they interacted with technology in their classroom: These include technology use at home, academic engagement, and language use with friends, as well as being overage for their grade, experiencing family poverty, and whether they worked; and (3) While most students evaluated their experiences using the one-to-one devices in their classrooms extremely positively (80.9%), some were not convinced that they added value to their learning (19.1%).
- Published
- 2020