Technology and Instruction Contexts in Rwanda and Kenya

• In Event: Digital technologies in education: student use, skill development and instructional contexts

Proposal

Introduction
Low- and middle-income countries are integrating educational technology into their education systems. Yet the technology often reinforces traditional teaching practices rather than innovative teaching approaches, missing an opportunity to deepen and enhance learning. This study explores the context for an initiative that uses play-based learning strategies combined with technologies to transform teaching and learning. The initiative introduces a double innovation as it aims to both introduce new digital tools and technologies and promote new pedagogies and learning experiences.
Research on instructional improvement and professional development and training for teachers indicates that the process of improving instruction at scale is not a linear process in which trainers direct teachers to use particular instructional practices, and teachers then implement the practices as directed. Rather, teachers make sense of new expectations and instructional reforms by interpreting through the lenses of their prior attitudes, experiences and beliefs about effective instruction (Coburn & Russell, 2008). Moreover, teachers’ abilities to implement new instructional approaches and incorporate new concepts into their instruction are shaped by the informal and formal contexts (Bryk et al., 2015; Penuel, Frank et al., 2015). Research on scaling educational interventions suggests the intervention must be feasible and aligned to the needs of each context and that the underlying principles and learning paradigm must be valued by stakeholders (Coburn, 2003; Morel et al, 2019). For example, an informal collaborative relationship with another teacher might provide additional capacity to plan together and try out new approaches with students. Formal contextual factors at the school level, such as access to technology resources and prior experience and comfort with technology will also shape whether teachers are able to implement reforms.
The study summarizes results from a context study that researchers conducted at the start of the project to develop an initial understanding of current pedagogical and technology practices within each education system and how these contexts connect to playful learning with technology. The following research questions guide the study:
1. What are the educational systems, norms, and expectations related to technology and playful pedagogies? How do these differ across contexts?
2. What are teachers’
Sample
The qualitative interview sample includes 26 ministry and system-level stakeholders in the two countries. The survey sample includes 276 grade 3-5 primary teachers in Kenya and 257 grades 4-6 primary teachers in Rwanda.
Methods and Data Collection
To gather system stakeholders’ systems, resources, norms and expectations, researchers conducted interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol. To develop the survey, and ensure comparisons outcomes across contexts, researchers across the two contexts collaborated to design and develop a survey of teachers, including a series of questions to measure teachers’ play and technology beliefs and practices along three dimensions (Desimone, 2009): Attitudes and belief about these new approaches and paradigms; knowledge and Confidence in their ability to use these new instructional practices; use of these new Practices in the classroom. Specifically, the survey also includes questions about teacher and school backgrounds to understand the context for technology and instruction. The survey explores five categories:
1. Attitudes about the importance of playful learning instruction
2. Attitudes about technology and learning
3. Confidence about using playful learning instructional practices
4. Reported use of playful learning practices
5. School context, including access to technology and related resources
Researchers in both contexts refined the survey questions together, while considering the items’ relevance to their respective contexts and then translated the English survey into local languages, conducted cognitive interviews with teachers to refine the meaning and clarity of the survey items and response options, revised and refined the survey again, and retranslated it. To explore whether the questions hang together around our hypothesized constructs, we piloted the survey with teachers in both contexts.
Findings
Technology poses both a challenge and a window of opportunity. Analyses of interview and survey data suggest that both systems level actors and teachers feel that technology should be incorporated into their instruction, and that playful learning aligns with the new competency-based curricula that is in place in both contexts. Stakeholders seem focused on the technology and less focused on the pedagogical changes that require substantial support. Specifically, the technology seems to be the most salient aspect of the intervention models for many stakeholders, and that for many who are not teachers, the technology aspect of the interventions is important and motivating. Stakeholders lack a shared vision for technology’s role, and lack a shared understanding about what “learning through play with technology” means in classroom practice. Many stakeholders seem to view the incorporation of technology as relatively unrelated to pedagogy and learning.
The second point of misalignment—which may be connected to the partial understanding of the potential for educational technology—is around learning goals. Many of the external stakeholders identify goals related to teaching students core technology concepts and skills such as coding and robotics. In contrast, many school leaders and teachers identified digital literacy and ability to use technology (e.g. digital empowerment) as an important need for the program, in which technology is a means for other learning experiences, rather than an end.
The findings also identified limited availability of technology such as laptops and electricity, combined with the large classrooms. The substantial variation in these resources both within and across countries suggests that any edtech intervention should start with an assets and needs assessment.

Authors

• Megan Silander, Center for Children and Technology, Education Development Center

• Daniel Light, DRL Research Consulting

• Arnaud Sadrick Igabe, Three Stones International

• Chebet Seluget, Education Design Unlimited

• Ilse Flink, Three Stones International

• Muthoni Njeru, Education Design Unlimited