Differentiating Reading and Writing Instruction Across Content Areas With 1:1 iPads in an Elementary School

Abstract

In this study, researchers investigated how elementary education teachers used iPads across the curriculum for reading and writing instruction. This study builds on a larger mixed methods case study that examined the implementation of a 1:1 iPad initiative in a suburban, co-educational, independent, Pre-K to 4th grade elementary school in the United States. Researchers found that the elementary education teachers frequently used iPads for reading and writing instruction independently of and also across content areas; in particular, teachers utilized the iPads to differentiate instruction and to expand and broaden the definition of “literacy” across the curriculum. Students also seamlessly used iPad apps and other more traditional tools for the purposes of reading, writing, and self-expression, often choosing to create a “mashup” consisting of integration of print/markers and digital tools to convey their ideas.