National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

Case Study: Fergal Moane (Sandringham school) ‘Using I-pads for blended learning’

Summary

Sandringham School in St Albans is a non-selective, co-educational Secondary academy school in St. Albans, Hertfordshire with approximately 1300 students on roll. We have been researching one-to-one devices since 2011 when we started with a portable class set of iPads.

Since 2014, all students in years 7-11 have been required to bring their Own Device to school. Whilst we have measured benefits across the range of subjects, particular impact has been observed in STEM subjects. Benefits have included increases in independent learning, resilience, access to a wide variety of learning materials and improvements in motivation and engagement. BYOD has also facilitated logging and reflection upon practical work and cross-curricular project work between the STEM disciplines.

Research Aims

We wanted to investigate the impact of one-to-one devices upon our stated learning goals: time-shifted and place-shifted learning, increased learner independence, collaboration and feedback between learners and teachers and increased personalisation of the curriculum. We initially targeted year eight students in June 2014 before embarking upon a wider whole-school rollout.

Measuring impact of a tablet scheme is always difficult as raw attainment scores are dependent on many variables that are difficult to isolate. Our overriding goal was to unlock the information and learning resources that are available on the World Wide Web and also develop pedagogies that are appropriate for 21st century learners. Measuring of success would be via surveys of staff, students and teachers.

Setting the scene

The lead teacher had undertaken research into the impact of access to tablet devices as part of a Masters Research project and this had led to the conclusion that shared devices had significant drawbacks, namely that impact was limited to time in school and that personalisation of learning was limited when devices were not specific to the individual learner. An Action Research project was initiated in tandem with the rollout of devices, firstly to year 8 and then to the remainder of the school. The research is ongoing and feeds back into subsequent phases of the project, in particular the findings of the student Digital Leaders who help to steer the project and act as trainers and researchers into online learning tools.

Rather than a fully digital strategy, Sandringham adopted a ‘Blended Learning’ approach where traditional and digital media were given parity and it was up to each classroom teacher to adopt pedagogy and practice that worked best for their learners and subject. With few mandatory structures, we wanted to find out which tools teachers were adopting with their learners and why this was. This strategy coincided with a move across the school to move from a ‘Science’ specialism to be focussed upon STEM and to broaden opportunities for cross-curricular work in science, maths and technology.

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

Carrying out the research

An initial survey of year 8 took place in October 2014 to assess impact and to make adjustments to the project. One of the key spin-off findings from this was that staff needed increasingly personalised training to make the most of BYOD in the classroom as staff were all at different stages along the adoption curve. Subsequent staff CPD was differentiated from sessions and tools suitable for beginners all the way up to those who are innovating and transforming their lessons using the SAMR model.

A whole-school survey across parents, staff and students took place in February 2016 after the project had been running for 12-18 months to assess the impact of the Blended Learning project

Findings

Initial research from year 8 indicated a strongly positive view of the BYOD scheme upon learning, with 92.5% of students and 100% of staff believing that the scheme will have a positive effect upon learning.

Students reported a variety of use cases for the BYOD scheme. Most usefully, both less able and more able students indicated that devices and access to the internet removed barriers to learning: supporting with homework or ‘unstuck’ strategies and also encouraging wider and deeper research beyond the confines of printed textbook or worksheet material. Not having to relocate to an ICT room was a further benefit cited.

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

The whole school survey in 2016 provided a broader survey across all year groups as well as parents and staff. Responses were gathered from:

• 687 parents.

• 1103 students.

• 136 staff.

All quoted parent and student scores have been tested to be reliable to within less than 5%, at the 95% confidence level by an independent survey organisation, Kirkland Rowell.

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

Anecdotal feedback from students is that they found the most inspiring use of devices to be in cross-curricular events, such as Maths and Computer Science Codebreakers day including the visit of the Enigma machine from Bletchley Park, an app-building day, a variety of STEM events including with the Engineering Development Trust and culminating in a week-long Space festival based around our live amateur radio link-up with Tim Peake on board the International Space Station.

Implications and learning

Key points for others undertaking BYOD or one-to-one device schemes:

Ensure that network infrastructure is robust and scalable – we went from around 400 devices to 3,000 on the network in a 12 month period and this necessitated a doubling of our internet connection speed and replacing the in-school Wi-Fi.

Personal devices that are owned by the students and are in continuous use between classrooms and home are key.

Ease of use is paramount, it should not disrupt the learning. Open access is vital and use of tools such as Google Apps for Education have been easy to use and available on all sorts of devices.

Staff CPD needs to be differentiated to suit the different levels of confidence of different members of staff. Little and often is key and via as many routes as possible, from formal INSET training through to nudges such as 5 minute Teaching Tips, newsletters and Digital Leaders training staff.

Early engagement with governors, parents and the wider community to explain the learning goals of the project is vital to ensure that people don’t’ misunderstand the use of digital learning as a gimmick.

One downside of a device-agnostic approach to BYOD is the inconsistency between devices. Devices vary in their capabilities and some of the cheaper Android devices have struggled in terms of performance and ease of use, causing issues for teachers and students in class

What’s next?

Integration of learning tools (e.g. for assessment and collaboration) into schemes of work at the faculty level. Each faculty needs to take up the mantle of finding their own apps and specific resources for their subject.

We have developed faculty Digital Learning Spaces for resources to be shared on the school website. This will need constant updating to remain relevant as the curriculum changes

Research into the specific impact of BYOD and Blended Learning in STEM subject is a future goal.

Tips for other teachers

See http:// bit.ly/EE-BYOD   for a more detailed case study and http://www.sandagogy.co.uk for Sandringham’s teaching and learning website with sections on Blended Learning and publications on Apps for learning.

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National STEM Learning Network Research Conference 201620 & 21 May 2016, National STEM Learning Centre, University of York

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