Does technology have an impact on learning? A Fuzzy Set Analysis of historical data on the role of digital repertoires in shaping the outcomes of classroom pedagogy

摘要

In the UK, 2012 marked the tenth anniversary of the publication of the Impact 2 report, which aimed to evaluate the relationship between school pupils' ICT experience and their attainment. Whether and to what extent digital technologies actually have impacts on school pupils' learning are questions which still do not have clear answers. Taking the micro-level of everyday classroom activities as the locus of the study, this paper aims to examine appropriate methodological approaches to evaluating the conditions which enable teachers and learners to use digital technologies for pedagogical goals. Using the notion of teachers and learners' digital repertoires, those taken for granted practices developed over a period of time, as its unit of analysis, the paper applies Fuzzy Set techniques to data from Becta Measures of Attainment Survey (2003). Arguing from systemic and empirical sources, the paper shows how the historical data is relevant in mapping out the factors which enable teachers and learners to achieve (or otherwise) their desired pedagogical outcomes. Taking two cases in which pedagogy either makes use of digital repertoires to achieve curricular aims or develops learners personal repertoires, the paper indicates the need for schools to be systematic in their tracking of pupil's digital experiences, and discusses the relevance of Fuzzy Set Analysis as a methodological approach.