Abstract
This research study was designed to clarify the effectiveness of innovative technology use in order to develop cognitive skills in Saudi Arabia with particular focus on the use of iPads in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. New technology approaches are continually being implemented in educational environments but there is often lagging analysis as to the effectiveness of these approaches. In the context under review the implementation of iPads represented a significant shift from using paper and pen to using a portable touchpad and digital pen. This qualitative study comprising observations, interviews and focus groups with teachers and students in four primary EFL primary classrooms in Saudi Arabia. It aimed to investigate any links between EFL teaching approaches, revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills and the use of iPads. The findings indicated an unevenness in the application of revised Bloom’s Taxonomy in English instruction generally and most iPad teaching practices were represented at lower order thinking levels (Remember, Understand and Apply). Also, flexible use of iPads when teaching-learning EFL represented levels of revised Bloom’s Taxonomy which aligns with specific roles of; teacher (T), teacher-student shared role (TS) and student (S) and plays a part in representing cognitive skills. These findings contribute to tablet devices use in language learning literature by highlighting the ‘how’ of EFL instruction based on revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Highlights
The use of technology in education has improved education’s effectiveness and has played a significant role in education by providing different types of activities and increasing the ease of access to information, to support educators in their teaching (Beetham & Sharpe, 2013; Dias & Victor, 2017; Sharpe, Beetham, & De Freitas, 2010)
The data obtained through observations, interviews and focus group meetings was analysed based on the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy hierarchy of the six levels (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate and Create)
This study has investigated the impact of using iPads in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in the light of the cognitive thinking skills of revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and how practices in teaching and learning of EFL using iPads represents those thinking levels
Summary
The use of technology in education has improved education’s effectiveness and has played a significant role in education by providing different types of activities and increasing the ease of access to information, to support educators in their teaching (Beetham & Sharpe, 2013; Dias & Victor, 2017; Sharpe, Beetham, & De Freitas, 2010). The integration of technology has been increasingly utilised by teachers due to their desire to improve student learning and to increase their students’ digital skills as well as to improve access to learning (Bower, 2017). Technology integration is considered a most important pedagogy by teachers in Saudi Arabia (Almalki, 2020) and it is only one country among many countries that depends on technology in many fields, especially in educational environments (Alharbi, 2020; Alresheed, Raiker, & Carmichael, 2017). It is important to consider how to move beyond the use of technology itself to how technology enables teaching and learning
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