During a tutorial in 'Supportive Learning Environments' on 22nd March, the course co-ordinator Ken Purnell, mentioned an ICT reading program at a public primary school in Gladstone. The program involved interactive reading/ literacy software and had achieved significant learning gains among aboriginal students in the school’s year 7 classes.
Given that I’m also studying ICTs, I was interested by his story and asked Ken Purnell why he thought the program had been successful in bridging the diversity learning gap. Our tutorial class then discussed why this may have been.
Included below are some of the points our tutorial group came up with:
- 21st century learners brains are not ‘hard-wired’ to learn via ‘chalk and talk.’
- Aboriginal students have a tendency to be disengaged learners and can find it difficult to remain attentive. Introducing computer software helped engage and involve students in their own learning.
- The program used quality, software from the United States that included various sensory elements – video, visuals, audio etc. It may have been more expensive for the school to purchase, but the investment was ultimately justified given the positive learning outcomes.
- The students didn’t feel pressured by their teachers or peers, they could learn at their own pace and at a reading level suitable for them, without the threat of humiliation due to their perceived (or real) poor reading ability.
- The reading software created a one-on-one learning experience in a classroom where it is usually one-to-twenty odd students.
- The software was age appropriate, culturally appropriate and offered positive reinforcement for the students as they progressed through the various reading levels in the program.
This is just one example of how ICTs are being used in our region to enhance learning for all students, including those with varying forms of diversity.
