In this article, Niall Curry (Senior ELT Research Manager), shares information taken from an ongoing research project on digital pedagogy from Cambridge University Press.
The world of ELT and beyond is increasingly concerned with digital pedagogy. And why not? We hear so much about it, about what it can afford and what it can help us achieve. But sometimes, we have to dig a little deeper to the pedagogy behind the digital pedagogy to make sure that what we’re getting is something that will help us learn, as opposed to something that is simply aesthetically pleasing or well designed as these are not always mutually exclusive.
In fact, ideally, we would want it all, UX, modern design and, most importantly, we want it to be built on research on learning that we know will guide its users towards more effective language learning. Part of what we do on the ELT research team at Cambridge University Press is investigate this, and how we can help guide materials development with research. In this short blog I’m going to give you a little insight into some of our thinking surrounding digital pedagogy.
What is the value of digital pedagogy?
From research we know that what’s important with digital pedagogy is that we are not ‘tech centric’. That means we think about learning first and the tool to help with that second. This is not new thinking, but it can difficult to move away from using technology just because we can. What we need to know is its unique value, its contribution. When we first had pens or coursebooks, they could have been considered ‘technologies’. Now they are normalised tools for learning. Tools we wouldn’t second guess, misuse or apply to situations in which they are not useful. The same should go for technology. What we want to ensure is that each piece of technology is a good fit for the pedagogical goal we’re trying to achieve.
With this in mind, it makes it easier for us to approach the polysemous field of digital pedagogy and its many models and modes like, virtual reality, adaptive and personalised technology, corpora and data-driven learning, mobile and blended learning and web-enhanced and computer-aided language learning. We can approach these better and better understand their value if we put learning first.
How do any of them help us achieve our goals?
Well to answer that we need to think about the pedagogy behind our digital pedagogy. But, there is a little problem. Digital pedagogy is so new. There is not much impartial research on digital pedagogy and with that it can be hard to know what we should do, what can guide us. Let’s look at the model of blended learning for example. For blended learning our challenge is to merge traditional approaches to language teaching with digital, exploiting the technology’s added value.
This may seem easy, but it is important to note that technology will not automatically improve the quality of learning. And, while research on digital pedagogy is rather thin on the ground relatively speaking, we can borrow from research in second language acquisition and language learning fields which, quite importantly, can guide us towards understanding not only how to use technology, but also when and why we should use it. This would effectively, lead us from being too focused on the tech and more focused on learning.
A good perspective to take when we note that how we learn changes much more slowly than the technology we use to learn. We’re more consistent. So, what does putting pedagogy first look like? Well, taking a principled approach we can look at frameworks like Scott Thornbury’s 12 SLA driven principles for technology adoptions, to evaluate the learning potential of our technology:
- Adaptivity – does the tool accommodate non-linear learning
- Complexity – does the tool address language complexity on multiple levels?
- Input – is there rich, comprehensible input?
- Noticing – are users directed to notice useful elements of input?
- Output – are there regular opportunities for language production?
- Scaffolding – are learning tasks modelled and mediated?
- Feedback – do users get focused and informative feedback?
- Interaction – is there a way for users to interact and work together?
- Automaticity – are there opportunities for practice?
- Chunks – does the tool help with learning formulaic language?
- Personalisation – does the tool encourage personal relationships with the material?
- Flow – is the tool engaging? Challenging? With clear benefits?
What can we learn from this?
The 12 criteria, for example, can be used to evaluate digital technologies for language learning to see how effective they can be. Although, it is not the case that we need to do all of these at any one time. Rather, we should think about whether digital tools can help us do any one of these things that little but more.
So in essence, following a research informed approach, where recognizing that although the tools and technologies might be changing quickly, the way humans learn languages, at the level of acquisition, is not, we can have a greater impact on learning in a digital age and drawing on research from the well-established field of Second Language Acquisition, we can use what we know about language learning to help deliver a more complete learning process. One in which leaners can interact with authentic audiences and authentic tasks; produce varied and creative language; interact socially and negotiate meaning; receive feedback; develop noticing skills; are motivated and are autonomous.
Here, as I said earlier, there is nothing particularly new, but with digital in mind, our job, with the learner at the centre, is to see what technology can afford language learning, and not the other way around.
For more information on digital learning, view our collection of whitepapers:
- Online Language Learning Conference at Cambridge University Press
- Using mobile devices in the language classroom #1: Making the case
- Cambridge Papers #3: Personalisation through mobile technology
- Cambridge Papers #4: Personalisation of language learning through adaptive technology
- Cambridge Papers #5: Blended learning