The Interactive Whiteboards, Pedagogy and Pupil Performance ...

5.9.2 Teachers’ use of Multi-Media
The ability to show small clips of films on the IWB, when used imaginatively, can
create lessons that are varied, engaging and that encourage whole class discussion.
Illustrative Case Study Example: The Use of Digital Clips in a Science
Lesson
In a Science lesson about ‘Forces’, the teacher had edited a short clip from the
film ‘The Matrix’ which he played at the beginning of the lesson. After he had
shown the 4 minute clip, he asked the pupils why they thought he had shown it to
them. He asked them to consider specific moments from the clip and then used
these to demonstrate how ‘forces’ work. Not only did it generate interest because
of the content of the film itself, but the teacher was able to highlight its relevance
to their SATs topic and make meaningful connections for the pupils.
5.9.3 The use of the IWB to Encourage Purposeful Whole Class Discussion
The capacity of the IWB to capture pupil attention when combined with teacher
strategies to encourage whole class talk about the contents of the board can lead to
productive contexts for learning.
Illustrative Case Study Example: Whole class discussion in Maths
In a Maths lesson a pupil is asked to go up to the IWB and write down the
equation that is used to work out the angles of a triangle. He does so and then
draws a right angle triangle that he labels incorrectly. The teacher asks the class
if this is correct. From the various suggestions made the pupil at the IWB writes in
the correct answer. The teacher then takes over the discussion and says ‘I
really, really liked your correction’ pointing to the girl who has called out. ‘You
said c is the long one. The other way we can think about it is to say c is the
longest one. What do we also know about c and its position?’ Several pupils call
out saying things like ‘it’s opposite the square’. The teacher points to the angle
(referred to by the pupils as ‘the square’) and asks them what it is called. Several
call out ‘the right angle’. She then draws the pupils’ attention back to the longest
line and asks them to name it. Many rightly call out ‘the hypotenuse’. During this
sequence she uses the image on the board to focus the whole class discussion
and picks up on pupils’ comments to use these to develop thinking. What the
technology also enabled her to do was save each of the flipcharts as she went
along which she later referred to when working on a class exercise.
Summary
The literature on IWBs suggests that pedagogies that are interactive, multimodal,
and fast paced are broadly beneficial and can be put in place by employing technical
and physical features of the IWB. The case studies suggest that these aspects of
IWB use cannot be treated uncritically, and that more attention needs to be paid to
when, and under what circumstances such forms of pedagogy will lead to the
transformation of whole class teaching in ways that can improve pupil learning.
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