Abstract
This paper examines how pupils with learning difficulties (LDs) used smartphones as supportive learning tools in an inclusive science class and how the usage developed over a two-year period. The case study was conducted in a Finnish primary school, where nine LD pupils’ smartphone usage was followed in three science learning practices that supported LDs. The data consisted of repeated smartphone questionnaires, interviews, learning outcomes, and teachers’ memoranda. The content and co-occurrence network analysis revealed that the smartphone usage varied in different practices, and its benefits developed gradually during the research period. Research highlights that teachers’ and pupils’ engagement with a dedicated, collaborative, and long-lasting process of smartphone usage in teaching and learning enables the achievement of change.
Highlights
Following the principle of inclusion, there are more and more pupils with a wide variety of learning difficulties (LDs) in mainstream classrooms (e.g., Graham & Jahnukainen, 2011)
This paper examines how pupils with learning difficulties (LDs) used smartphones as supportive learning tools in an inclusive science class and how the usage developed over a two-year period
During the two-year research period, smartphone usage developed gradually in the science lessons, and beneficial smartphone usage varied in different LD-supportive science practices. These findings are represented with illustrative quotations from the pupil’s final-interviews below. 3.1 Changes in Smartphone Usage During the Research Period The analysis revealed that from the very beginning, pupils and teachers found the smartphones beneficial in science education (Table 4), but active usage was dependent on the contents of the projects
Summary
Following the principle of inclusion, there are more and more pupils with a wide variety of learning difficulties (LDs) in mainstream classrooms (e.g., Graham & Jahnukainen, 2011). Carefully implemented inclusive pedagogy can create an optimal and rich learning environment for every pupil, including those with LDs (Bešić et al, 2017; Florian, 2010). The framework relies on three main assumptions of inclusive pedagogy. In this paper, relying on the IPAA framework, especially on the third assumption, we report a two-year case study within inclusive science lessons, where digital technology was modelled and tested in a novel way to support effective science learning practices. The beneficial impact of using digital technology alongside effective learning and teaching practices has been widely researched (Sakarneh & Nair, 2014); this beneficial impact has rarely been studied over an extended period in an inclusive class that takes into account the diversity and complexity of LD pupils. Our aim is to fill this research gap by focusing on developing smartphone usage that relies on research-based, effective science practices and technology-driven usage (Brodin & Lindstrand, 2003)
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