A summary of the academic article; The impact of digital technology on pedagogy, assessment and learning environments: Perspectives of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Teachers/Coordinators
Digital technology has emerged as one of the most important topics concerning learning in present times. The rapid pace of technological development has led to a transformation in teaching, learning and assessment. This transformation is driven by the quest to develop new ways of learning and augment the classroom environment by including new technologies and methods. This research aimed to capture the views of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) teachers and coordinators on the transitioning experiences caused by the shift to online teaching and the ways in which this shift has impacted their pedagogical approaches.
Take a moment to reflect on how well you have embraced digital technology in your school.
The findings from this research elucidate the impact of the transition to online teaching due to this digital surge on several key aspects around pedagogy, assessment and learning environments in IBDP schools.
Do these findings resonate with your context?
Learning Environment
- Amplified digital divide in several settings
- A distinct need for a robust digital infrastructure, consistent learning management systems and clear processes
- Access and inequalities in learning opportunities
- Lack of an enabling home environment
- Well-being issues of teachers and students with prolonged exposure to digital technology
- Lack of social interaction
- Parental/school community expectations of online teaching
- Budget/financial constraints in certain contexts that hindered digital provisions
- Lack of digital readiness and ability of the teachers to adopt to online teaching
- Professional development of the teachers to further their digital skills and competencies
Not many people are aware of the online tools that might be used, a combined session could be conducted for teachers regarding the usage and implementation of these tools in online teaching….……………. teachers have struggled with issues of academic dishonesty during this time. A centralised system needs to be put in place where this can be avoided…….
Access to the internet is a major challenge in our context, the internet data is quite expensive, and the students are not that equipped with the technology like not everybody has a mobile, smartphone or a computer, so 60 to 70 percent don't have access to these things and only 30-40% have been provided data facility by the parents which makes the online teaching and learning extremely challenging in our context.
Curriculum and Pedagogy
- Using new pedagogical approaches online
- Subject-specific challenges around explaining extended concepts online
- Difficulties in conducting practical and Internal Assessment tasks specifically in the sciences (group 4) subjects
- Inability to address a wider range of skill sets online
- Significant concerns regarding differentiation, personalised support and autonomous learning
- Challenges around student engagement, student motivation and organising the group work online
- Online classroom management and large class sizes
- Lack of support for students with inclusivity requirements due to inadequate digital provisions
- Lack of collaborative time for teachers
- Time management to plan effective online curriculum delivery
Our school policy allows students to keep their cameras off for child’s online safety reasons. It is extremely difficult to communicate with students who are not engaged when you cannot see them …………. I am losing some students who are not participating at all in online class…….…… The achievement gap seems to be growing and it is very worrying to see some students hardly engaging with lessons.
I found it extremely challenging to expect a 14–15-year-old student to just respond positively without seeing me in person …………it's very difficult for me to draw the diagrams online and if I use different tools to draw that diagram it's difficult to make them understand that virtually.……
Our school was not prepared for such a sweeping shift, and I feel the EE process lacked appropriate support during this time in terms of making sure research skills were taught and supported in an organized/formal way…
Practical and IA’s need serious development, there are resources on the internet, and they are scattered, additionally, those resources are mostly paid. It is not possible for students and teachers to purchase it…... If support for experimental design and experimental pieces of knowledge could be shared at one place that could have been easier for learners to access and to gain practical skills better.
Feedback and Assessment
- Key issues related to the design and conduct of online assessments
- Difficulties in following the IB exam paper model in an online environment
- Challenges in monitoring/supervising students’ work online.
- Facilitating continuous and effective student feedback online
- Planning differentiated assessments to address the individual needs of the learners
- Reliance on a range of formative assessments using short assessment tasks online
- Academic honesty emerged as a central concern around assessments
- Facilitating Internal Assessments as per the IB expectations
It is challenging to create online different assessments with differentiation instructions and to monitor many students in the class doing different assessments at the same time.
Assessments in IBDP needs transformation. IB must come up with alternative ways for assessing learning than their current practice.
I think IB must reorganise how the internal assessment is done and monitored in schools. Why can't IB come up with a plan, why the IA is still stuck at 20 to 30 per cent.……………. IB should adopt and look at those alternate ways of assessing and these are being done by the universities. For instance, considering a project-based approach in assessments as we did in our master’s and doctorate programmes.
Do you want to know more about this research?
This research was partially commissioned by the IB under the prestigious Jeff Thompson Research Award. Click here to access the full report.
Is your community future-ready?
This account of the specific transitioning experiences of IBDP teachers/coordinators paves the way for further investigation into the ways that schools can reorganise their digital learning environments and explore issues arising from this research in their contexts.
Does your school have a strategy in place to address any occurrences such as the pandemic in the future?
To help you I have written the following checklist that provides you with a structure to start the conversation within your schools, departments and communities.
Hopefully, we will never have to face such significant disruption to normal learning again. Being prepared and ready, however, will help reduce any impact on learning that a future event may have in your community.
About The Author
Naaz Kirmani
IB educator
Naaz Kirmani is a passionate and accomplished IB educator who believes that teaching and learning must empower students to develop a personal mode of thought based on critical thinking, reflection and reasoned argument. She has been associated with IB schools in different roles and leadership positions and has been an active IBEN member in Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East regions. She is presently pursuing a PhD from the University of Bath, UK and is the recipient of the Jeff Thompson Research Award by the IB. Naaz’s research interests centre around the role of technology in education with a specific focus on Artificial Intelligence in Education.