Abstract

The main focus for this paper is an overview and critique of an extensive series of empirical evaluations of Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) in UK classrooms which took place between 1994 and 1998. The main purpose of the investigations was to determine if the use of ILS was effective in producing worthwhile gains in basic numeracy and literacy. Findings from three phases of research offered evidence relevant to this question. The safest conclusion is that the investigations failed to find any convincing evidence for gains. Though ‘safe’, this conclusion masks some highly significant differences between the findings of the three phases. One produced evidence of statistically significant, positive and educationally worthwhile effects. A second generated relatively neutral findings; a mixture of small positive and equally small negative effects, while a third led to the conclusion that is was “difficult to find anything but an apparently negative effect on achievement”. A consideration of the nature and implications of these different findings forms the main content of this paper. The findings are assessed from three perspectives. The first explores issues concerning research methodology with a view to identifying minimal rules of “good practice” in empirical evaluations of the impact of computers on educational achievement. The second considers the findings from a more theoretical perspective; exploring the case that conceptual analysis can also provide a source of converging evidence in evaluations of the educational impact of technology. Finally, the paper cites evidence from observational data to explore the thesis that any impact of ICT on pupils’ learning will not be understood without attention to the way in which the technology is assimilated into teaching and learning practices. We argue that, even in relation to systems designed to support individualised, automated teaching, there are sound theoretical reasons to expect that any long-term and cumulative effects on performance will be mediated and influenced by classroom practice. Finally, implications of this argument for developing principles of design based on the “system–learner–teacher” triangle are explored.

Citation

Wood, D., Underwood, J. & Avis, P. (1999). Integrated learning systems in the classroom. Computers & Education, 33(2), 91-108. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 6, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/88201/.

Keywords

• Computer Assisted Instruction
• EVALUATION METHODS
• Foreign Countries
• Instructional Effectiveness
• Integrated Learning Systems
• literacy
• Numeracy
• Research Methodology
• technology integration