Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project - summary report Report to the Department for Children, Schools and Families

Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project
October 2007 http://www.becta.org.uk page 1 of 12
© Becta 2007 Research report
Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project - summary report
Report to the Department for Children, Schools and Families
July 2007
Bridget Somekh, Maureen Haldane, Kelvyn Jones, Cathy Lewin, Stephen Steadman, Peter Scrimshaw, Sue Sing, Kate Bird, John Cummings, Brigid Downing, Tanya Harber Stuart, Janis Jarvis, Diane Mavers and Derek Woodrow
Centre for ICT, Pedagogy and Learning
Education & Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University
Becta Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the headteachers, teachers and local authority staff who assisted us by completing questionnaires and giving us their time for interviews. We would also like to give particular thanks to the ten case study schools in Phase 1 of the research and seven case study schools in Phase 2, whose work is not individually identified in the report, including the six schools that discussed the draft of the Phase 1 report with us at the Sweep Sharing Day for Case Study Schools in May 2006: Cavalry Road Primary School, March; Finmere C of E School, Finmere; Newhall Junior School, Swadlincote; Scout Road School, Hebden Bridge; Tyssen Primary School, Stamford Hill; and West Lodge Middle School, Pinner.
Introduction
The expansion phase of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project provided £10 million in 2003–04 to support the acquisition and use of interactive whiteboards in primary schools within 21 local authorities.
The aims of the Schools Whiteboard Expansion Evaluation (Sweep) are to:
1
Assess the educational impact and operational effectiveness of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project initiative.
2
Evaluate the Primary National Strategy's whiteboard support network for schools not involved in the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project pilot.
More specifically, its objectives are to:
1
Assess the extent to which the use of interactive whiteboards affect standards in literacy and mathematics.
2
Identify the effects of using interactive whiteboards on a range of other outcomes.
3
Investigate the contribution made by the introduction of interactive whiteboards to the development of pedagogies and to a more general embedding of ICT across the curriculum.
4
Evaluate the impact of the project on continuing professional development among teachers.
5
Evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of the first phase of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project initiative.
The report directly addresses these objectives and is organised in the following sections.
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© Becta 2007 Research report
Becta Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project
Executive summary of findings
This summary is organised under six headings, a general section and sections for each of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project’s objectives. It concludes with some recommendations.
General points
The interactive whiteboard has been welcomed enthusiastically by a large number of primary teachers and its take-up in schools has proceeded with unprecedented rapidity. This appears to be because it is a resource which is immediately useful to teachers in conducting whole-class teaching, which is a requirement of the primary strategies.
Pupils are universally enthusiastic about the interactive whiteboards, because of their clear visibility (‘We can see!’), the easy access they give to ICT through touch, and the added variety they bring to lessons.
In the Primary Schools Whiteboard Project, interactive whiteboards have been permanently installed in classrooms. Although we did not ask teachers whether they switch interactive whiteboards off during the day, the overwhelming impression is that they are switched on first thing in the morning and remain on all day, making them available even when their use has not been planned for a lesson.
The extent to which the use of interactive white boards affects standards in literacy and mathematics
There is a consistent finding across all data that the length of time pupils have been taught with an interactive whiteboard is the major factor that leads to attainment gains. This appears to be the result of the interactive whiteboard becoming embedded in teachers’ pedagogy: that is, when teachers have had sustained experience (around two years) of using an interactive whiteboard, they are able to change their teaching practices to make best use of its facilities. The qualitative data strongly support this.
Key Stage 2 mathematics
Analysis combining the data from the 2005 and 2006 cohorts found that averagely attaining pupils of both sexes, and high-attaining pupils of both sexes, made greater progress with more exposure to interactive whiteboards in maths. Progress was measured against prior attainment in Key Stage 1 national tests. Based on an expectation that pupils will on average progress six points (or one national curriculum level) in two years, it was possible to calculate their increased rate of progress. This ranged from two and a half months for girls of average prior attainment to five months for boys of high prior attainment.
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© Becta 2007 Research report
Becta Evaluation of the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion Project
interactive whiteboards had little effect (but certainly not a detrimental effect) on progress in maths of low-attaining pupils in either gender group.
When Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 are examined separately it is clear that once the innovation becomes embedded, positive gains are likely to be achieved by pupils of both genders and all attainment groups, thus reducing the likelihood that interactive whiteboards will widen the gap between low-attaining pupils and their peers.
Key Stage 2 science
Analysis of the data for Cohort 2 showed clear benefits of being taught with an interactive whiteboard for all pupils except high attainment girls (where there appears to have been a ‘ceiling effect’ since the highest possible score is fixed). The most marked effect was for low attaining boys who made some seven and a half months' additional progress when they had two years of exposure to interactive whiteboards as compared to no exposure.
Key Stage 2 English
Positive trends were identified in the combined data for English but these were not confirmed by separate analysis of the data for Cohort 1 and Cohort 2. As measures of attainment in English are less stable than in maths and science, the results are inconclusive and warrant further investigation with larger data sets.
Writing was explored separately because of concern at the poor performance of a high proportion of boys in writing, as compared to girls. Although no statistically significant effects were found (in part due to a reduced data set) a positive trend (p<0.094) color="#003300">Provides some useful information on the use of White boards in the primary school system.It links the length of time being taught with Innovate White boardsto the success in the gains in educational attainment of subjects associated with the tool.