Using devices right
Dr Rana Daoud wants students to have a beneficial learning experience when using digital devices in classroom learning.
She moved to Aotearoa New Zealand from Palestine in 2017 to pursue her Doctor of Education at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Her PhD uses complexity theory to identify how upper primary school students use digital devices in classrooms.
“The systematised literature review I did in my thesis showed that most of the current research focuses on the effectiveness of using devices from a cause and effect paradigm. I wanted to move this on, to understand students’ learning experiences from a holistic perspective. So by considering classrooms as social complex systems, I’ve identified seven ways of use, factors shaping the uses, and how uses contribute to educational purposes,” says Dr Daoud.
After completing her Master’s in science education, she taught full time at primary school, while lecturing in the teacher education programme at Birzeit University in Palestine. She approached her PhD from a teacher mindset, to consider how students use devices, and to address the complexity of the classroom learning environment. “It’s not a single cause that creates an effect, it’s actually different causes. When they interact with each other, they create an effect”.
Dr Daoud sees that the qualities of the elements interacting in classrooms are not enough to ensure the quality of the learning experience—how these elements interact and work together is crucial. “If I have the best teacher, the best device, and the best components in the classroom, this isn’t going to create the desired education outcomes unless there were effective interactions between them”.
She adds, “The whakataukī ‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini (success is not the work of an individual, but the work of a collective)’ summarises this feature of complex systems and applies to both failure and success.”
She really enjoyed her experience as a postgraduate student here at the University, explaining her supervision meetings with Associate Professor Louise Starkey and Dr Hiria McRae were a source of inspiration. “Every time I had a supervision meeting, I went in feeling depressed, but when I left their office, I was optimistic, confident, happy, and had motivation to work.”
She also appreciated the academic opportunities provided by the School, which supported her to go to ECER, a major educational research conference in Germany.
“My favourite places at university are Student Learning, and the library,” says Dr Daoud. “And the social side is also great. I participated in the Thesis Bootcamp set up by the Postgraduate Students’ Association and in the Faculty of Education writing sessions. A group of PhD students had a great thesis writing bootcamp initiative. We set up our own fortnightly meetings with food, chat, and uninterrupted writing time.”
In her PhD, Dr Daoud created a model showing the overlap of components of learning that school leaders, teachers, researchers, and policymakers can use to analyse and understand using devices in the classroom for planning or evaluation.
Wellington Uni Professional now employs Dr Daoud as a learning designer, developing the digital learning experience for short courses and micro-credentials. “I’m using all my knowledge of digital technologies, learning and instructional design, and developing my expertise at the same time. I love working in such a positive life-long learning environment.”