5 types of TNI use in Quebec schools

On February 4, Ghislain Samson and Sonia Lefebvre, professors at UQTR, presented the results of their research on the impacts of using the interactive whiteboard. What are the teaching practices of primary and secondary school teachers who integrate it into their teaching? This is what their study wanted to detail.

Around 2010, interactive digital boards (TNI) made a discreet appearance in Quebec classrooms. Six years later and ministerial financial measure helping, most teachers use such a device with various digital teaching resources. Two professors from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Ghislain Samson and Sonia Lefebvre, have chosen to study the impact of TNI on the teaching practices of teachers. To do this, they took two “portraits” of a sample of Quebec teachers, a first in 2013-2014, a second in 2014-2015. They identified the uses that the latter make of their TNI by relating them to various theoretical models, including the typology of Beauchamp and Kennewell (2010).

This typology, which also served as the basis for the work carried out by Carole Raby and her team in the project CAP on TNI, presents 5 levels of interactivity in which teachers can locate. Thus, the latter evolve through the different categories of use, ranging from non-interactivity, where the teacher is in control of the lesson and the TNI during a period of formal teaching, to the synergistic level where the use of the board is shared between the teacher and the students.

To make the different uses of the TNI more concrete, the UQTR researchers and their team went further by offering typical portraits of teachers in addition to the Beauchamp and Kennewell model. Let us briefly describe them and see how Quebec educators are distributed in this typology.

Note that the first names used are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended for particular individuals!

• Liv, the non-interactive, teaches using his TNI as if it were a green board. His teaching is rather traditional. His students copy the projected lecture notes and can calibrate the board. According to data collection by professors Samson and Lefebvre, 29 % teachers were at this level in 2013-2014 compared to 23 % in 2014-2015.
• Albert, the authoritarian, manipulates the TNI. He plans the use of certain resources and controls the pace of his lessons. He can use the TNI to use mathematical tools and do some web research in the presence of his students. The latter, for their part, are invited to do some manipulation of the animations. In 2013-2014, 45 % of teachers used the TNI in an “authoritarian” manner compared to 53 % in 2014-2015.
• Monique, the dialectic, uses TNI constructively. She selects the resources (hypertext links, multimedia animations and videos) to lead the students towards understanding content. She allows her students to use TNI resources to answer a question or solve problems. The researchers observed that the proportion of “dialectical” type teachers increased from 18 % to 23 % from 2013 to 2015.
• Frédéric, the dialogic, is not limited to the software that accompanies the TNI. It uses, when the activity requires it, different software or animations. Its TNI becomes a common space where student participation is encouraged. They think collectively, make relationships using concept maps, and record data. They interact with each other and with the painting. Seven percent of teachers were of the “dialogic” type in 2013-2014 compared to 2 % in 2014-2015.
• Finally, Angelique, the synergistic, shares his use of TNI with his students. She uses it to support her teaching and learning from a co-construction perspective. His students, mini-teachers, solve and develop problem situations. However, only one teacher in the sample was at this level in 2013-2014. None in 2014-2015. “This type of uncommon use could be explained by the few teachers with very extensive teaching experience with TNI. Fully integrating a technological tool such as TNI into your practice takes time. ”, According to Sonia Lefebvre.

And you, where are you located?

Find out more

• The interactive digital board: when researchers and practitioners unite to identify avenues for action
• The research report (available at the beginning of March)