 UMass Lowell Asst. Prof. Laura O’Dwyer has garnered international media attention for her recent study, “Examining the Relationship Between Home and School Computer Use and Students’ English/Language Arts Test Scores.” The study, published in the Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment was picked up by news agencies around the world, including Fox and NBC. Conducted in collaboration with researchers from Boston College, the study demonstrated that regular use of computers can have an effect on student performance on standardized tests.
“Very often people think of technology use as simply playing games or downloading music,” said O’Dwyer, the study’s lead author. “This study shows that targeted types of technology use have the potential to improve student outcomes in language/arts education.”
Analyzing test performance and computer uses of 986 fourth grade students from 55 classrooms in nine Massachusetts school districts, the study found that the more regularly students use computers to write papers for school, the better they performed on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems (MCAS) English/Language Arts exam. This positive effect occurred despite the fact that students were not allowed to use computers for the test.
Conversely, the study found that students’ recreational use of computers to play games, explore the Internet for fun, or chat with friends at home had a negative effect on students' MCAS reading scores. Similarly, students’ use of computers to create PowerPoint presentations was also negatively associated with MCAS writing scores. The authors speculate that this may be because such activities decrease the amount of time spent reading and writing.
“When examining the effect of computer use on student learning, it is important to consider how well a specific use is aligned with the measure of learning,” said O'Dwyer. “While this study found that use of computers to create presentations was negatively associated with writing scores, it does not mean that students should not be creating presentations with computers. Creating presentations may be a positive learning experience, but such effects are not captured by a test like MCAS that measures reading and writing skills.”
The study, the first to use advanced statistical techniques to look at the relationship between nuanced measures of technology use and students' standardized test scores, found that students’ use of computers throughout the writing process was statistically significant related to students’ MCAS writing scores. Using computers simply to type in final drafts of essays was not related to increased test performance. These findings are consistent with past research and the study demonstrates the importance of allowing students to use computers to produce rough drafts, edit their papers, and to produce final drafts.
At a time when schools are under increased pressure to raise test scores, yet are also facing budget shortfalls, this study provides evidence that investments in computers can have positive consequences for student achievement. Also, the results of the analyses suggest that teachers and students must be thoughtful about how computers are used and what types of learning they expect to impact.
“I do think that much more research needs to be conducted in this area before we fully understand how technology can be effectively integrated into teaching and learning,” says O’Dwyer. “Right now, tests like MCAS are unlikely to be sensitive to the types of improved learning that occur with effective technology use.”
The importance of the findings has been evidenced by the media storm the study has caused. NBC and Fox affiliates across the Unites States along with scores of other media sources reported on the study. And it has drawn international attention, as well, with press coverage in other countries including India, Canada, Italy, and Germany.
“I was very pleased to see that the publication got such wide distribution among news sources,” says O’Dwyer. “Schools and districts have invested heavily in educational technology over the past decade and they are eager to see whether their investments have paid off with regard to improving student outcomes.”
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| UMass Lowell Asst. Prof. Laura O’Dwyer | |
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