No substitute for good teaching – expert

SOUTH Africa needs to proceed with caution in its eagerness to roll out paperless classrooms, a senior education researcher with the Human Sciences Research Council says.

Linda Zuze was referring to an international study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which found no substantial improvement in pupils’ reading, maths or science achievement in countries which have invested heavily in information and communications technology (ICT).

She warned that there was no substitute for good teaching.

The study asserted that technology could amplify great teaching but that great technology could not make up for poor teaching. Reading online required the same skills as reading a printed page, and that pupils who hadn’t acquired basic skills in reading, writing and navigating through a digital landscape would find themselves unable to take part fully in the economic, social and cultural life around them.

To reduce inequalities in children’s ability to benefit from digital tools, countries needed to improve equity in education first. Ensuring that every child could read and do maths would do more to create equal opportunities in a digital world than could be achieved by expanding or subsidising access to hi-tech devices and services.

“The bottom line is that teaching and learning is about conveying a message to children in a systematic way, and in a safe, and adequately resourced environment,” Zuze said. “Any technological investment needs to support these fundamental objectives.”

Quoting Amanda Ripley, the American author of The Smartest Kids in the World, Zuze said countries where the schooling system had transformed for the better had a few key ingredients in common: teachers and teaching were prioritised, parents took an active part in schools, and educational quality was a national priority.

“Before leaping on board the tech bandwagon,” Zuze said, “perhaps we should first focus on ensuring that schools have suitable infrastructure and essential resources, such as proper sanitation, nutrition, desks, chairs and, most importantly, good teachers.

“The key takeaway is proceed with caution. Don’t dismiss technology in the classroom, but when technology is used it must be used properly, and a solid foundation for literacy and numeracy must already have been laid.”