New study finds technology improves grammar learning

Hand-held technology can help to improve elementary students' learning of grammar, according to a new study by researchers at the Institute for Effective Education (IEE). A randomized evaluation of the use of Questions for Learning (QfL), a technology-enhanced, self-paced learning tool, was conducted in more than 40 elementary schools. In QfL, each student responds to progressively more difficult questions that are presented on wireless hand-held devices at the rate that the student answers them. This allows both more advanced and weaker students to answer in a private way at a pace appropriate to them. Students in classes who used QfL showed significant gains in grammar compared with students in the control group. This improvement was greater in schools that used QfL at least three days each week and for low- and average-achieving students. If these results held over a school year, these students would make between three and four months of additional progress. Both teachers and students enjoyed using the strategy for formative assessment, believed it improved student achievement in grammar, and would recommend its use for other students and for other subjects.