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Lessons hit the right note
It can be difficult to tear children away from their computer games consoles these days, but what if you could use them as an effective learning tool in an educational context?
Vanessa Richards, a curriculum support teacher based in the Scottish Borders, used her Wii Christmas gift to introduce a new way of learning into the classroom, to see if the children could learn and be motivated by something they associated with entertainment.
Vanessa's job was to improve the children's access to music and broaden their knowledge in line with CfE.
This particular research project was designed not only to improve her own performance within her role, but also to enhance the enjoyment of the children and more fully support the aims of CfE.
She carried out her research in five different primary schools in the Borders - Coldstream, Edenside, Greenlaw, Gordon and Yetholm Primary School, with students between primary four and seven taking part.
Vanessa used a variety of musical-themed games on the Wii to encourage the children to be more engaged with their music lessons. She studied the effects the Wii technology had on children's musical skills in the areas of pitch, notation and timbre, as well as recording children's attitudes and motivation in music lessons.
Although learning by playing games on the Wii sounds like a dream lesson for children, Vanessa recorded some interesting results. She said: "My findings surprised me. A significant amount of children that I hadn't expected were unhappy taking part in the lessons. It was often the children who were most vocal during normal lessons who were scared to take the risk that they might not get it - it took a few weeks to bring them round. It seemed to be that the older the children were, the less willing they were to try it and potentially fail."
Although the actual physical research was done during school time, over a period of 30 weeks, a fair amount of time had to be spent working on it at home as well. "I had to get to grips with the technology on my own time. I tested it out with my kids - but being new at it, I wanted to know how to use it properly. I certainly think a lot of the extra work was to do with me trying to understand the technology," she said.
The outcomes of her research suggest there is a strong link between the use of technology and motivation for some learners. However, Vanessa suggests that this link would require further research in order to explore how participation in this sort of project could enhance children's motivation and personal development across the subject boundaries.
Given time to reflect on her findings, Vanessa contemplated on what she might have done differently. She said: "I maybe wouldn't have gone down to as young as primary four for the research. I would've stuck with primary five to primary seven. The younger children, although they enjoyed it, seemed to struggle with the technology at times."
Something that has come from her research is the increased skills she has gained as a teacher. "I think it has given me another strategy for teaching those children who find school a challenge - it complements what we already do and it seems to work well."
Vanessa also had some advice for teachers to take note of before they start a research project of this scale. She said: "The main steps prior to starting the research were the talks I had with senior management in the schools - this was invaluable. There were some barriers that came with that, as some schools didn't realise how much work had to go into the project."
Vanessa also explained why more teachers should take part in research projects. She said: "In the end, you have to reflect on what you're doing. If you're not reflecting as a teacher, then you're missing out as a teacher and the children you teach are missing out too."