Strategies to improve the effectiveness of Internet use by low ability pupils

Andy English: Chesterton Community College

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Summary

This study examined how guided use of the Internet could support the teaching and learning of low ability Geography pupils. The project was undertaken over a period of three months with a Year 9 group during their study of 'Development' and a geographical review of Brazil. The researcher devised a number of practical strategies to help students locate and use web-based information effectively. These are described and evaluated, drawing on data gathered through observation of pupils carrying out their tasks, pupil and researcher diaries, group interviews and a questionnaire.

Findings show that these pupils tended to be less confident than other groups in their use of computers; some pupils preferred using textbooks because they found the complexities of web-based material unhelpful. Successful strategies for overcoming these difficulties included provision of a 'portal' page containing hyperlinks to pre-selected web pages (although this removed an element of challenge), and agreeing keywords for use when searching text. Pupils found it easier to read web text after they had copied and pasted it onto a plain background and enlarged the font size. Verbal prompting from the teacher was found to be a less satisfactory means of keeping pupils focussed on information retrieval tasks.