Forget tablets and laptops!
Victorian era chalk slates help teenagers get ahead because they get instant feedback, scientists claim
Using Victorian-style chalk slates in the classroom dramatically boosts teenagers' ability to learn, a new study has revealed.
The old-school slates promote academic achievement by providing students with instant feedback, instead of having to wait for tests to be marked.
The latest findings are the result of a three- year study which reintroduced the chalkboard in 140 schools across the UK.
Despite often being overlooked in favour of interactive whiteboards, iPads and Chromebooks, researchers found old-fashioned chalk slates can boost pupils' grades by two months of learning.
The latest findings come from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), a charity that specialises in improving classroom standards, which reintroduced chalkboard slates to 140 schools across the UK. Of those schools selected for the study, most (106 out of 140) were rated as either 'good' or 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
Researchers asked GCSE-level students to use chalk slates in the classroom, answering questions on the miniature chalkboards and holding them up to the class. The study found this simple method provided children with instant feedback instead of having to wait for tests to be marked. After three years, the study found the less academically gifted students were those who benefited the most from the reintroduction of chalkboards. According to the EEF, the project would only cost £1 per pupil to install and could be one of the most cost-effective ways of improving academic attainment.
Dylan Wiliam, emeritus professor of educational assessment at the Institute of Education, who designed the study, said: 'Getting teachers to use real-time knowledge of their pupils' strengths and weaknesses to adapt their teaching is a great way to boost learning. The teacher can base a decision about what to do next on evidence from the whole class, rather than just from the confident students who raise their hands.'
One teacher who trialled the use of chalkboards told the researchers the scheme worked because of its simplicity. The unnamed educator said: 'Other initiatives are like the emperor's new clothes; the next thing comes along and you kind of forget. So that has been the main seller for us, that it is nothing new, it is just really good practice and sometimes the old things are still the best things.'