Kaydee Owen

Mae’r erthygl hon yn archwilio profiadau bywyd blaenorol a dyheadau posibl at y dyfodol mewn perthynas â’r defnydd o dechnoleg o safbwynt prosiect a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Mae gan Grŵp Cydweithredol Cymru ar gyfer Dylunio Dysgu (WCLD) 32 aelod o bob un o’r 9 prifysgol yng Nghymru sy’n canolbwyntio’n benodol ar dechnoleg ym maes dysgu ac addysgu. Trwy ddull hunangofiannol currere, nod yr astudiaeth yw rhoi sylw i brofiadau blaenorol pob aelod o’r adeg yr oeddent yn ddysgwyr eu hunain; cyfeirir at hyn fel y cam atchweliadol. Nod yr astudiaeth hefyd yw archwilio tirwedd y defnydd o dechnoleg yn y dyfodol wrth ddysgu ac addysgu, gan ddefnyddio cam blaengar y dull currere, i ganiatáu i gyfranogwyr feddwl beth allai ddod i fod. Ar ôl casglu’r holl bytiau unigol, pytiau sy’n cyfeirio at atgofion, straeon ac anecdotau unigol, llwyddodd synthesis i nodi a damcaniaethu unrhyw nodweddion cyffredin. Prif ganfyddiad yr ymchwil yw bod technoleg, a’r holl wahanol dechnolegau, yn cael ei thrin fel offeryn y gall athrawon ddewis ei weithredu pan fyddant yn ystyried bod hynny’n briodol yn addysgol, yn enwedig o ystyried buddion technoleg a all drawsnewid cyfleoedd dysgu ac addysgu.

This article examines the prior lived experiences and future potential aspirations of technology use through the perspective of a Welsh Government-funded project. The Wales Collaborative for Learning Design (WCLD) has 32 members from all 9 universities in Wales with a specific focus on technology in learning and teaching. Through the autobiographical method of currere, the study aims to give attention to the previous experiences of each member from when they were once the learner; this being referred to as the regressive phase. The study also aims to explore the future landscape of technology use in learning and teaching, utilising the progressive phase of the currere method, to allow participants to wonder what could or might come to be. Once all individual fragments were collected, fragments referring to individual memories, stories, anecdotes and recollections, synthesis allowed any commonalities to be identified and theorised. The main finding of the research is that technology, and all various technologies, be treated as a tool with which teachers can choose to implement when they deem pedagogically appropriate, especially considering the affordances of technology that can transform learning and teaching opportunities.

Mae’r ymchwil hon yn cyflwyno astudiaeth achos o fyfyrdodau a gasglwyd oddi wrth un dosbarth ar sut yr oeddent wedi ail-ddylunio eu hystafell ddosbarth i weddu i anghenion amrywiol yr athro a’r dysgwyr, a sut mae dysgwyr yn parhau i addasu eu man dysgu i weddu i’w hanghenion unigol yn well. Mae canfyddiadau’r papur hwn yn taflu goleuni ar sut mae dysgwyr yn gwerthfawrogi galluogedd a dewis yn eu hystafelloedd dosbarth, rhywbeth y gellir ei gyflawni drwy gynnig arwynebau gwaith a mannau amrywiol iddynt i gwblhau gweithgareddau dysgu. Awgrymodd y dysgwyr fod amgylcheddau dysgu hyblyg yn eu galluogi i ddewis ble a sut i gwblhau eu gwaith, ond hefyd yn eu galluogi i leoli eu hunain mewn amgylcheddau cymdeithasol sy’n addas i’w hanghenion dysgu. Mae’r gwaith hwn yn rhoi cyd-destun a gweledigaeth bellach ar weithredu’r Cwricwlwm newydd i Gymru o fis Medi 2022 ymlaen, yn ogystal â’r diwygiadau ehangach ar lefel system addysg sy’n digwydd yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd.

This research presents a case study of one class’s reflections on how they redesigned their classroom to suit the diverse needs of the teacher and learners, and how learners continue to adapt their learning space to better suit their individual needs. The findings of this paper illuminate how learners value agency and choice in their classrooms, something which can be achieved by offering them various work surfaces and spaces to complete learning activities. Learners suggested that flexible learning environments enabled them to choose where and how to complete their work, but also enabled them to position themselves in social environments that suit their learning needs. This work provides further context and insight into the implementation of the new Curriculum for Wales from September 2022 onwards, as well as the wider education system-level reforms currently taking place in Wales.

Developing an evidence‐base for educational provision can be an arduous journey. To facilitate consistent and accurate implementation of promising approaches, research efforts need to answer questions relating to theoretical coherence, efficacy, effectiveness, cost, ease of use, and acceptability. An evidence‐building framework can help us to think critically about the current state of evidence and plan a long‐term research programme. In this conceptual paper, we draw attention to an evidence‐building framework from medical and psychosocial science that conceptualises the phases and challenges along this journey. We have adapted this framework to help researchers and other education practitioners conceptualise how to review, synthesise, generate and communicate evidence in education. This framework facilitates a questions ‐ to ‐ methods approach in our journey to evidence, dissolving the idea that some research and analysis methods are superior to others. We argue that this evidence building framework can help us to distinguish between key terms in education, such as evidence ‐ informed and evidence ‐ based practice, as well as teacher enquiry and research —helping to distinguish the roles of researchers and practitioners. This paper has direct relevance to informing how we build evidence in education and identifies a need for collaboration as we work towards an evidence‐based teaching profession.

The Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS) strategy promotes fluency across several skills and contexts. However, few studies have reported the social validity key stakeholders associate with using the strategy in schools. Assessing social validity may provide us with some insight into factors that may affect engagement, implementation fidelity, and persistent use of the intervention after the termination of a research study. Study 1 details the findings from a survey completed by teachers who have used the strategy in their schools (N = 55). Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes: 1) factors that promote and limit progress, 2) confidence, and 3) inherent advantages of the SAFMEDS strategy. These themes encapsulate teachers experiences of implementing the strategy under the real-word conditions of the classroom and the accompanying advantages and potential challenges they face. Within study 2, we discuss themes arising from interviews with children (N = 26) about their views and experiences of using the SAFMEDS strategy. These children had used the strategy with their teacher for one academic year to promote fast and accurate recall of arithmetic facts. Analysis of these transcripts revealed five further themes relating to children’s engagement with the strategy: 1) enjoyment, 2) data, 3) sense of achievement, 4) skills, and 5) home use. Collectively these themes have potential impact with regards to future training and support models for the SAFMEDS strategy.

The Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS) strategy promotes fast and accurate recall. The existing literature suggests that the strategy can help learners improve academic outcomes. Through a cluster randomized controlled trial, we assessed the impact of implementation support on children’s mathematics outcomes during a teacher-led SAFMEDS intervention. Following training and prior to baseline assessments, we randomly allocated schools to receive either no (n = 31) or ongoing (n = 33) support from a researcher. Support consisted of three in-situ visits and email contact. Assessors remained blind to the condition of the schools throughout. We analyzed the outcomes of children (n_Support = 294, n_NoSupport = 281) using a multi-level mixed-effects model; accounting for the children nested within schools. The results suggest that implementation support has a small effect on children’s fluency of arithmetic facts (Mathematics Fluency and Calculation Tests (MFaCTs): Grades 1–2, d = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06–0.40; MFaCTs: Grades 3–5, d = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.08–0.42). These results are larger than the average effect sizes reported within professional development literature that apply coaching elements to mathematics programs.