The Interactive Whiteboards, Pedagogy and Pupil Performance ...

substantially enhance the use of IWBs when they helped teachers move away from
the front of the class, and enabled pupils to exert more control over the contents of
the board.
3. How Far has the Technology Changed the Way Teachers Teach?
There is considerable variation in the use of IWBs both within departments and
between core subjects. The literature suggests a continuum in which new
technologies initially support, then extend and finally transform pedagogy as
teachers gradually find out what the technology can do. Familiarity, confidence and
time are assumed to be the keys that unlock this gradual process of transformation.
Our research certainly shows that those taking the lead in using the technology in
the most innovative ways often have had access to the technology for the longest
period or are particularly committed to exploring what it can do in circumstances
where they have time to experiment. But the introduction of an IWB does not in and
of itself transform existing pedagogies. Moreover we consider that the use of IWBs
to support, extend or transform existing pedagogies can all be justified, depending
upon the immediate curriculum context, the teacher's purposes and the pupils’
needs. The main emphasis needs to rest with the appropriateness of the pedagogy,
not the use of the technology per se.
4. What Kinds of Changes Does the Technology Foster?
To a large extent the kinds of changes the technology fosters depend on what
teachers think it is for. There are three key themes that dominate thinking about the
role of IWBs in changing pedagogy. These are: increased pace of delivery;
increased use of multimodal resources, incorporating image, sound and movement
in new ways; and a more interactive style of whole class teaching.
The research suggests two important caveats to these anticipated benefits.
First, it is possible to approach pace, multimodality and interactivity with either a
surface or deep understanding of what they contribute to pedagogy. A surface
approach rests at the level of the technical or physical attributes of the technology.
From this perspective, making pedagogy interactive means using particular features
of the IWB such as drop and drag, or moving between multiple screens during
lesson time. A deep approach embeds the use of the technology more specifically in
a broader pedagogic aim. This means assessing more precisely how particular
features of the IWB can achieve a wider pedagogic purpose which is itself centred
on increasing pupil understanding of key aspects of relevant subject knowledge.
Second, the value of particular attributes of the technology and their capacity to
achieve meaningful change depend on how these features fit with existing pedagogic
approaches and priorities embedded in the particular subject domain and its existing
practice. So fast pace in teaching is perceived as much more of a virtue in Maths
than in other subject domains. This is also where the technology is most likely to be
used to this effect. From this point of view, the introduction of IWBs to secondary
schools may reinforce, or even distort, rather than reconfigure the dominant
approach to pedagogy in particular subject areas. We would recommend that
teachers review when a fast pace to pedagogy is appropriate, under what conditions,
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