Assessment 1 – Engagement with Educational Issue

Creating educationally beneficial environments for students located in low Socio-Economic

Schools is a key concern for teachers as well as government policy. Information

Communication Technology (ICT) has been pushed forward as a means of enriching

student’s education, however, questions have been raised about its effectiveness within the

classroom. Callow & Orlando (2015) discuss this genuine implementation with reference to

the Fair Go Project’s MeE engagement framework, which provides a basis for measuring

student engagement. This essay will discuss the article, as well as implementing its key

findings into a lesson plan, within the Key Learning Area (KLA) of History. Justification of

these changes will be sourced from the article itself, as well as other sources that share an

understanding of the framework used.

The MeE framework, as outlined in the Fair Go policy allows for an in-depth viewing of the

effectiveness of ICT implementation within the classroom, through a measurement of

student engagement. Within the study, the effectiveness of ICT was based upon existing

information from the Fair Go Project’s findings regarding engagement. These key elements

were adapted to include the interplay between: “…high cognitive (‘thinking hard’), high

affective (‘feeling good’) and high operative (‘working well’) elements” (Callow & Orlando,

2015, p. 357) of ICT usage throughout a lesson. The MeE framework was selected for use as

a means of focussing the research, as well as a tool to be able to explain what factors within

a lesson were engaging for the students present (Callow & Orlando, 2015). These factors are

used throughout the article to place value upon the genuine usage of ICT within the

classroom setting. Through this judgement, Callow & Orlando (2015) argue that careful use

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of ICT can enhance student’s educational outcomes in alignment with the Fair Go Project’s

findings upon engagement in general.

One of the key themes within Orlando and Callow’s (2015) article is in relation to not only

the use of ICT in classrooms but also its genuine implementation and usefulness. This is

discussed within the quote: “Technology is not a panacea for education, but it is a powerful

tool that when implemented appropriately can catalyze and accelerate education reform

and development…” (Selinger, 2009, p. 206; Callow & Orlando, 2015). This is the underlying

issue that is not only addressed within the article but also through the current trend of ICT

usage as a whole.

The importance of effective implementation of ICT within the classroom can not only be

seen in the given article, it is also an integral aspect of the Australian Curriculum itself. The

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) includes ICT as a key

factor within its General Capabilities, alongside both literacy and numeracy, among others

(ACARA, n.d.). Within its viewing of ICT within the curriculum, it is further stated that: “[ICT]

transform[s] the ways that students think and learn and give them greater control over how,

where and when they learn” (ACARA, n.d.). All of these factors show the serious

consideration that is made towards placing ICT within the classroom, however, they are

limited in addressing their genuine application.

ICT is also important in a narrower sense to the study of history. We all have likely had

experiences of vast amounts of rote learning within the history classroom, with a majority of

time being spent reading from a textbook. As Hillis & Munro (2005, p. 192) comment, it is

commonly believed among history teachers that ICT holds: “…potential to improve the

quality of pupil-teacher interaction, promote effective questioning and decision making,

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develop modelling skills, and stimulate the pace of learning” (Hillis & Munro, 2005, p. 192).

The use of ICT in the history classroom can lead to greater student engagement, especially

when used in topics that require significant rote learning. Being able to incorporate effective

interactive elements allows the students to gain a greater understand and maintain

engagement within the classroom.

The emphases of ICT within the Australian Curriculum not only shows why it is important in

a general sense but can also be applied to specific KLA’s. It also provides an important

background information as to why the study in question was conducted in the first place

and raises the importance of the issue.

The qualitative study conducted by Callow & Orlando (2015) consisted of individual case

studies of 28 teachers, ranging from various years of schooling. During the 5-day data

collection period an academic researcher as well as a research assistance collected data on

ICT usage with reference to the MeE framework provided by the Fair Go Project. Important

to note in this study was that the teachers themselves were included as co-researchers,

providing a secondary opinion of how the lesson went as well as an opportunity to discuss

the reliability and possible bias of the teacher (Callow & Orlando, 2015).

In terms of the articles validity, steps were taken to increase the effectiveness of the study.

One such step was taken in the choice of teachers used. They were not: “…selected on the

basis of their specific technology expertise but were identified by their community as

exemplary in engaging students in low SES locations” (Callow & Orlando, 2015, p. 350). This

is an important aspect as the lessons were not judged solely on usage of ICT, they were

judged on the extent to which they engaged their students, with reference to the

established MeE framework. By making this decision they were able to focus the scope of

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research towards exemplary teaching methods, rather than what Callow & Orlando (2015)

believe to be the current trend of believing ICT will provide the solution on its own. To

further narrow the application process, potential nominees were required to provide a

rationale as well as have two referees, further targeting the participants who would best

reflect the study being undertaken.

As mentioned previously, the teachers themselves were also used in this study to provide

their own feedback. This can be seen as a form of ‘Triangulation’ in which researchers use

different information collection methods to inform their findings (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2014).

This is yet another step taken by Callow & Orlando (2015) to increase the reliability of their

findings and it was sourced from many different places. Once data was collected regarding

levels of engagement throughout a lesson, they were able to cross reference this with the

teachers own opinion, in order to gain a greater accuracy in findings.

Within the first section of the article an extensive, primary referenced background regarding

the MeE framework was provided. This not only outlined the way in which data would

collected and analysed throughout the study, but also allowed the researchers to justify

their usage of it. Aside from the background of framework, time was taken to define other

key terms useful to the study, as well as explaining the interaction between ICT and

engagement. This provided sufficient clarity to the article, enabling it to be understood in a

more effective manner.

One of the possible concerns of Callow and Orlando’s (2015) article can be seen in the form

of data collection used. One of these said problems lies in what is called ‘observer bias’,

which is defined as being: “…the tendency to perceive an event in such a way that relevant

aspects of the event are overlooked, distorted, or falsified” (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2014, p. 119).

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As outlined above, this is somewhat addressed with the usage of research assistants as well

as critical interviews at the conclusion of each observational period. Given the fact that an

already existing framework was used to rate the findings this is vital to note as bias could be

present in the form of involvement, or interest within the testing parameters itself.

Another problem that can arise from the use of direct observation lies in the interpretation

of data itself and how it is relevant to the study. The data collected through the case studies

can be seen to be of high inference, in which the researchers are required as Gall, Gall &

Borg (2014, p. 119) state to: “…examine a behaviour and then think carefully about whether

it is the result of an underlying cognitive or an emotional process.” This is especially difficult

when measuring a concept such as engagement as it is very difficult to physically observe

effectively. This said however, within this particular study this problem is mostly alleviated

through the usage of the MeE framework, in which its core principals of effective classroom

engagement were adapted for ICT usage. The careful structuring of this study and its usage

of an already established framework allowed the researchers to increase its validity and

reliability, therefore increasing the significance of its findings.

Overall, with the use of the MeE framework of engagement this study affirms the findings of

past studies. Those being that effective usage of ICT within classrooms can have a beneficial

impact upon engagement within classrooms. Where it differs from past research however is

its focus on ‘effective’ usage, not only using ICT in a broad sense but also narrowing it to be

used as a catalyst for implementing high cognitive, affective and operative elements within

a lesson (Callow & Orlando, 2015). Next well will transition to applying these key points of

effective ICT engagement to a particular lesson plan within the KLA of History.

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The sample lesson plan that will be used for this activity was developed by the Board of

Studies Teaching and Educational Standards (2014), which involves a note-taking task with

reference to the topic of the ‘Movements of people’. Within the outcomes of this lesson, it

is stated that students should be able to explain and assess factors that shaped modern

Australia as well as explain the cause and effect relationships of developments of modern

Australia (BOSTES, 2014).

In terms of resources, the lesson makes use of a course textbook, with no reference to the

use of ICT at all. This is quite problematic within the framework outlined in the study as it

lacks the high cognitive aspect that is vital to student engagement. As outlined by Callow &

Orlando (2015, p. 360) one of the key markers of effective engagement through ICT usage is

the teacher’s ability to: “Use technology to shift students beyond passive presence, to

intellectual engagement in the lesson.” The activity presented in the lesson plan can be seen

as fairly passive, with students reading information and only interacting with it when they

are required to select what they deem as important information.

Whilst the Learning Activity conveys concepts outlined within the curriculum it can be

improved through pedagogical techniques in accordance with the findings from Callow and

Orlando (2015). Critical reflection upon these findings are vital as: “…technology can be

purposefully used to support effective literacy learning…” (Callow & Orlando, 2015, p. 367).

What is important to note however is the way in which ICT is implemented. That is that

increasing student engagement is not simply solved by increasing access to technology, but

rather through its careful use and implementation (Orlando, 2013). As a side note for the

sake of this activity, it will be assumed that access to certain technology is available within

the given situation.

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One of the main things that could be added for the benefit of students would be the use of

interactive whiteboards (IWB). This is something that is mentioned widely throughout the

research paper itself. The lesson could not only rely upon information presented through

the textbook, but also various forms of media, in the form of expert explanation through

resources such as YouTube in order to gain a broader, and in turn more engaging lesson.

This is supported by the idea that: “Use of popular culture, for example via YouTube, can

serve to improve engagement and hence activity levels” (Jarvis, 2015, p. 8). In relation to

the core element of the lesson plan, note taking would still be a vital aspect as students

would not only have to gather notes from the given text, but now incorporate notes from

visual and audible sources.

Incorporating a secondary, expert opinion in conjunction with the primary text would

increase the operative aspect of the MeE framework. This being providing students with a

greater range of learning experiences (Callow & Orlando, 2015). This also provides an

opportunity to address a multitude of student needs, as diversification of media forms allow

an understanding of which form suits students in a more beneficial manner (Callow &

Orlando, 2015).

This change to the lesson is not only in alignment with findings from the study, but also

maintain the learning outcomes provided within the lesson plan. The changes are also

congruent with the emphasis placed upon ICT through the Australian Curriculum as they

provide an opportunity to add: “…depth and richness to student learning via […] content

elaborations” (ACARA, n.d.), further engaging student learning through the use of ICT.

As outlined through the key study, the effective implementation of ICT is vital to developing

greater educational potential within the classroom. Whilst the article refers to applying ICT

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to low SES schools, being able to apply these findings in a general sense to the KLA of history

leads to a more engaging experience for your students, as well as aligning with the

Australian Curriculums concern with general capabilities. Steps must be taken by teachers to

not only implement ICT because it is a requirement of the Australian Curriculum, but to

implement it in a meaningful manner, one that will be for the greater benefit of the

students.

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 References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). General Capabilities:

Introduction. Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/overview/introduction.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-

communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction.

BOSTES. (2014). Sample Lesson Plan – History. Retrieved from

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/7-10-literacy-numeracy/pdf-doc/history-

sample-lesson-plan.pdf

Callow, J., & Orlando, J. (2015). Enabling exemplary teaching: A framework of student

engagement for students from low socio-economic backgrounds with implications

for technology and literacy practices. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 10(4),

349-371. doi: 10.1080/1554480X.2015.1066678

Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2014). Applying educational research: How to read, do,

and use research to solve problems of practice (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson

Hillis, P., & Munro, B. (2005). ICT in history education--Scotland and Europe. Social Science

Computer Review, 23(2), 190-205.

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Jarvis, M. (2015). Brilliant ideas for using ICT in the classroom: A very practical guide for

teachers and lecturers. Oxfordshire, England: Routledge.

Orlando, J. (2013). Engaging teaching practices with ICT in low SES schools. In G. Munns, W.

Sawyer, & B. Cole (Eds.), Exemplary teachers of students in poverty (pp. 136–148).

Abingdon: Routledge.

Selinger, M. (2009). ICT in education: catalyst for development. In T. Unwin (ed.), ICT4D:

Information and Communication Technology for Development. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

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