Interactive whiteboard use in state-sector primary schools

Abstract

Our study aims to investigate the quantity and type of use of Interactive Whiteboards in Maltese State-Sector Primary Schools, during the Maltese, English and Mathematics lessons. We also wanted to observe how, and how much, the students were using the Interactive Whiteboard during lessons for the three subjects mentioned above. We carried out our research by building case studies about six teachers. We did this by observing these six teachers together with their students while using the Interactive Whiteboard during lessons. Interviews were also carried out with teachers and the Head of School to discover their perspectives. The participants in our study used the Interactive Whiteboard in different ways, approximately two hours daily; either by using ready-made resources from Internet websites or by creating activities themselves using the Interactive Whiteboard software. Although all teachers said that not enough training had been provided, almost all of them agreed that it was not difficult to learn how to use it and their teaching methods had changed to be able to teach with Interactive Whiteboards. The reactions of the teachers and the Head of School were that the Interactive Whiteboard makes learning fun and increases motivation. On the other hand it can cause challenging situations when technical problems arise and can also be tiring for pupils if the teachers rely solely on the Interactive Whiteboard to deliver their lessons. The Interactive Whiteboard is used for 32% of the lessons by the pupils, and the most frequent techniques used in class are 'drag & drop' and 'rub & reveal'.