Research School Network: 3 Takeaways from the Digital Technology Guidance Report Our summary of the latest EEF guidance report

The EEF’s guidance report Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning is a clear and concise summary of the main themes that evidence points us toward, and recommended reading for everyone in education. Sir Kevan Collins explains in the foreword that ​“we not only reviewed the best available international research, but also consulted with teachers and other experts.” Here are our top takeaways.

Implementation is key
One of the common messages from the EEF’s reports, and something that we build into all of our training courses, is the idea that effective implementation of anything – including digital technology – is key. Recommendation 1 is to ​‘Carefully consider how technology is going to improve teaching and learning before introducing it’. There are instances where different implementation of the same intervention has led to varying outcomes, so the report sets out some pointers:

• Be clear on the rationale for how technology will improve learning
• Consider whether technology will supplement, enhance or replace existing teaching
• Prepare for implementation (read the EEF’s A School’s Guide to Implementation for more on this)

A good example shared in the report is that of interactive whiteboards. These were rolled out across education, and in many instances with little consideration of implementation. One evaluation of their use showed a change in practice but not an improvement in learning, suggesting that these may not be a good use of money.

Technology can enhance explanations and models

In his excellent book ​‘How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone’, Andy Tharby writes: ​‘Teachers routinely explain facts, concepts, procedures, moral and aesthetic truths, metacognitive strategies and more. Each type of explanation comes with its own distinctive set of tricks and skills and a corresponding collection of hitches and hazards.​’

The report explains that technology can help us to enhance these skills, while mitigating the hazards. It can complement the skilled teacher in their explanations through a number of ways. From interactive simulations in Science, e.g. ecosystems, to using visualisers to model writing. From pre-made representations of abstract concepts to graphical representations of concepts e.g. vocabulary.

Taking the earlier example of interactive whiteboards, we know of Maths teachers for whom the software and functionality of these smartboards are essential. The boards and the corresponding software makes their explanations more concrete, and their modelling more effective. For example, they can model effectively the use of mathematical tools in construction topics that couldn’t be done as well on a powerpoint presentation or with a normal whiteboard.

Technology can support purposeful practice
In the same way that technology can complement the way that teachers teach, it can also complement the way that pupils practise. It can facilitate high quality practice: ​“Evidence suggests that teachers can use technology to increase the benefits of practice to improve fluency or retention of information, and that this is likely to have a positive impact on learning.”

This can be done through programs that allow for lots of practice, with immediate feedback on performance, such as Hegarty Maths. Or it can be through tools that are built with principles of cognitive science in mind, e.g. retrieval practice. There are an increasing number of online tools that are designed around such principles. For example, Quizlet and Seneca are two online tools that facilitate retrieval practice. Adam Boxer has shared his Retrieval Roulette, a spreadsheet tool which supports this too. And apps like QuickKey can support.

Read all of the guidance reports here.