Students’ misconceptions were seldom addressed in a prompt and constructive manner, particularly at the start of learning each Mathematics topic. Teachers only had time/resources to ask a few students to present their answers on the board for feedback. Many students became less attentive either because the feedback was not about their answers, or that they merely wait to copy the correct answer. Learning was not multiplied. This left the majority of students with many misconceptions, which led to confusion, poor grades and eventually a decrease in interest, rendering further attempts to motivate the student largely ineffective. Although teachers knew that giving feedback on every student’s work simultaneously as part of the classroom teaching experience will be most beneficial for learning, this was difficult in a class of 40 students.
Therefore, the project investigates the extent to which ICT-facilitated pedagogical approaches increases Effective Feedback (immediate, clear and affirmative) in Assessment for Learning through multimodality (oral, written & drawing) in a typical class of about 40 students as compared to one without ICT facilitation.
The project used Nearpod, software that facilitates interaction real-time, to project all students’ responses on the classroom screen in real-time and ensure maximum participation rate by means of peer-pressure as well as teacher monitoring. Nearpod also allows screenshot-archiving of students’ responses for sharing with other teachers to emphasise common misconceptions. This software was run on Microsoft Windows Surface Pro 2, a portable operating system which could be conveniently kept in classrooms, thus not requiring the use of computer labs, and so saving time on moving students to and fro. Surface Pro also allowed students to write mathematical equations and teachers to give written feedback.
Immediate correction and praise, both verbal and written, raises subject interest when they can compare their answers with their peers immediately.
Future project plans can focus on overcoming current challenges faced which include the limited writing space provided by Nearpod, integration of other pedagogical approaches such as Assessment as Learning and classroom management (restless students who complete their task early).
