Topic

The present study was designed and ran as a case-study research in one primary school in Luxembourg. It focused on teacher and student classroom experiences during one mathematics lesson, where a digital learning platform was used during the lesson. Using digital technology as a complementary education medium has spurred a shift of focus towards understanding how teacher’s role and the interactions in the classroom have adapted or transformed. This understanding will assist practitioners in developing effective learning activities while integrating digital learning tools in teaching and learning (van der Meijden & Veenman, 2005; Jeong, Hmelo-Silver & Jo, 2019; Cope & Kalantzis, 2021). While most of such studies focused on secondary and higher education (Broadbent& Poon, 2015; Subhash & Cudney; 2018) only a few explored the primary school level (Tsuei, 2017).

Research questions

1) What is teacher’s role in a classroom lesson where a digital learning platform for mathematics has been integrated?

2) What are the teaching strategies and lesson structure in a lesson where a digital learning platform for mathematics has been integrated?

3) What are the classroom interactions (teacher-student, student-student) in a lesson where a digital learning platform for mathematics has been integrated?

Objective

With this study, we aim to observe and measure the classroom aspects (classroom interactions, teacher role and the lesson structure) in one digitally enhanced primary school classroom. Starting from the empirical evidence on these aspects around the traditional primary school classroom, we will report on how classroom interactions, teachers’ role and teaching practices are transforming when integrating a digital learning platform. Based on the changes we observe, we will elaborate on digitally enhanced mathematics lessons and the challenges it raises for teachers and their professional practice.

Theoretical framework

The society’s dynamic, naturally, brings changes to the teaching profession (Guerriero, 2017). Teachers need to adopt their professional skills accordingly, to be able to practice efficiently their profession (UNESCO, 2011). Rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) triggered such a change process, necessary to avoid a significant gap between teachers’ ICT competencies and their teaching practices (Van Laar, Van Deursen, Van Dijk, & De Haan, 2017, Voogt, Erstad, Dede & Mishra, 2013). Empirical evidence has identified a few essential aspects of the classroom process that matter for student learning, such as effective teaching, teacher’s role and classroom interactions (e.g. Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004, Kyriakides & Creemers, 2009). In this context, it is important to grasp these aspects in the digitally enhanced classroom, to be able to facilitate and support effective practices for the student learning also in digitally enhanced environments.

Lesson structure is an important component of effective teaching (Kyriakides, Creemers, & Antoniou, 2009), with more time being spent on practicing/applying/consolidating in the lesson being associated with higher levels of class academic engagement (Maulana, Opdenakker, Stroet, & Bosker, 2012). Not surprisingly, the teacher’s role in classrooms where digital learning tools are integrated, was found to be highly linked with his/her technical ICT skills and knowledge of the digital took used, essential for a successful pedagogical use in the classroom practice (Cviko, , McKenney & Voogt, 2013). Teacher competencies need to be harmonized with the digital use, for teachers be able to enhance the independent learners’ potential and facilitate their learning (Rødnes, Rasmussen,  Omland & Cook, 2021). In terms of classroom interactions, using students’ perceptions, typologies for specific classroom interactions have been identified, such as the Tolerant-Authoritative teachers, positively associated with students’ gains, or the Uncertain–Tolerant and Uncertain-Aggressive teachers, not positively associated (Wubbels and Levy 1993; Fisher, Den Brok, Waldrip & Dorman, 2011).

This study is a qualitative, case-study research design (Flyvbjerg, 2006), using video-based research (Derry et al., 2010) complemented with teacher interviews and focus group. The data was collected using classroom videotaping, cross-validated with semi-structured interviews with the teacher of the class and with other four class-level teachers associated with the observed classroom. The same teachers participated in one semi-structured focus-group session as well. We video-recorded one classroom and one extended lesson of that classroom, in which the teacher was asked to use a digital learning platform as he usually does with the class. The students were engaged in working with the digital learning platform on their computer or iPad, as instructed by the teacher. For the focus group and interviews, all five teachers in that school who teach the same class level, including the teacher of the filmed classroom, participated in a 1h focus group and 1h individual interview. The data collection was performed by one research team trained by an experienced qualitative researcher, including one primary education teacher as part of the team. The approach of video-data, interviews and focus-group data analysis was “data selection” (Derry et al., 2010), meaning that we focused on specific information in the video and the audio-transcribed answers, in line with the theoretical framework and research questions defined. We followed a deductive approach of data selection for analysis, following the significant theoretical evidence presented. More specific, following the theoretical background, we developed a set of main themes for the coding system (1) lesson structure and teaching approach, 2) teacher role, and 3) classroom interactions, with which we coded three parts of the video-data (6 min each, at the beginning, middle and the end of the lesson, so 3*6 min coded). The participants worked and attended a primary school in Luxembourg City, the country’s capital. The pupils in the video-recorded lesson were all in the last grade of primary education. There are 19 pupils in the video-observation, 10 girls and 9 boys, between 10 and 12 years old. The teacher of the classroom is an experienced teacher, working in close collaboration with the other four teachers teaching at the same grade level in the school. The setting is that students each work with the digital learning platform, individually with in their account while in the math lesson managed and organized as a usual math lesson by their teacher, as he usually does.

Outcomes Effective teaching and lesson structure The teacher spends most of the lesson time on “practicing/applying/consolidating content” and most of his attention on assisting individual students. The students are task-focused and they ask for assistance from their teacher only when needed (Maulana, et al, 2012). Teacher role We found three types of teacher actions, namely direct teaching, interaction with individual students and observing students. In terms of time and frequency, the teacher did direct teaching only for 2 minutes in the first part of the lesson. He engaged in observing the classroom for a total of 1 minute in each of the 3*6min coded. The most frequent activity was interacting with individual students (10 students), representing 80% of the time coded in the second and third part of the lesson. This shows that the teacher role is that of a facilitator of students’ individual learning in the classroom (Haruehansawasin & Kiattikomol, 2018). Classroom interactions There are many interactions in the classroom, in terms of time and frequency, teacher-individual student, pairs of students and larger group of students, within a Tolerant-Authoritative pattern (Den Brok, Waldrip & Dorman, 2011). The student-student interactions represent also 80% of the total time coded, the students addressing mainly other students for help, especially in the second and third part of the lesson. We observed also one “gatekeeper” student and a gender pattern in the interactions, to be detailed during the presentation. To conclude, the digitally enhanced classrooms allow the transitioning from the teacher-centered learning to a more self-regulated student learning. This increases the collaborative and peer learning interactions, while shifting the teacher’s role towards a facilitator of learning. Besides these, the findings showed the importance of teacher Technological Knowledge for an efficient content-support and effective student learning in a digitally enhanced mathematics lesson.

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