Challenges and opportunities of digital technology for multilingual education: comparative studies across India, Mexico, and Canada

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

According to UNESCO, over two million students are taught in a language they do not understand. This issue significantly impacts their academic success, with drop-out rates being twice as high compared to those fluent in the language of instruction (Callahan, 2013). Furthermore, language learners are notably under-represented in science streams (Ruhose & Schwerdt, 2016; OECD, 2016 & 2018). These challenges underscore the urgent need to support the academic development of this vulnerable population.
In this context, digital technology has emerged as a promising strategy to support teachers and school stakeholders. Digital resources foster collaboration, problem-solving, and procedural thinking (Johnson et al., 2011), enhance complex thinking and creativity (Akcaoglu, 2016), and reduce test-related anxiety while increasing student engagement (Kiili, 2018). Digital technologies also provide a more accurate assessment of students’ STEM knowledge and skills (Educational Testing Service, 2012). Multilingual versions of these tools are particularly valuable as they support learning across languages, offering a clearer picture of STEM competencies of multilingual learners (Le Pichon et al. 2024). Additionally, using students’ mother tongues for content transfer maximizes engagement and school progression (Le Pichon et al. 2024; Cummins, 2000; Monsrud et al., 2019).
Pre-pandemic studies highlighted the diverse needs of teachers regarding digital technologies (Le Pichon, Cummins & Vorstman, 2021). The pandemic further emphasized the challenges of delivering digital education and the need for sustainable solutions (OECD, 2020). An integrated approach involving Information Communication Technologies (ICT), apps, interactive websites, and best instructional practices can make abstract concepts and technical language more concrete, boosting students’ confidence and self-efficacy (Van Rooy, 2012) particularly in STEM subjects. It is crucial to understand the needs of students for whom the school language is not their first language and to collaborate with online educational resources to create engaging, hands-on STEM resources.
The studies presented in this symposium aim to:
1. Conduct a gap analysis while supporting teachers with digital technology.
2. Develop a linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy to support STEM learning.
3. Increase STEM engagement.
Each study explores teachers’ experiences using multilingual digital technology as a culturally responsive tool for teaching STEM, the enhancement of their expertise through additional pedagogical tools and/ or the impact of these technologies on their collaboration with families and communities.
They evaluated the effects of using a digital technology on STEM teaching in Canada (across four provinces), Mexico, and India. Professional development workshops were conducted in each of these countries to familiarize teachers with the platform and to create a supportive learning environment. Each of these studies will examine the workshops conducted in the respective countries, the impact of digital technologies on these workshops and the delivery of teaching content, and finally, the attitudes of teachers towards these technologies, including their ability and willingness to implement them in their own teaching contexts. The results will highlight the similarities and differences across contexts, taking their unique circumstances into account.
Ultimately, these studies seek to create engaging, linguistically and culturally relevant STEM online learning opportunities. During the discussion (25 minutes), the researchers will engage with the audience addressing the conference’s key questions about educators’ experiences with digital technology, how these experiences shape our vision of education with or without digital technology, and how we can envision teaching and teacher education in a digital society across languages and boarders.

Sub Unit

• Language Issues SIG

Chair

• Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Digital Divide in Haryana, India: Insights for Implementing a STEM Learning App across school systems - Sudhashree Girmohanta, O.I.S.E. University of Toronto

• Transforming STEM Classrooms with Multilingual Digital Tools: Insights from Mexico - Leanne Adegbonmire, OISE, University of Toronto

• Transforming STEM education through digital education: insights from global curriculum mapping - Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto; Mai Naji, OISE - University of Toronto