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Papers by Derek Robertson
Scottish Educational Review
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
Education Sciences
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Education Sciences, 2021
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Keywords: digital technology; home-learning; Thirdspace; primary teachers; Scotland; COVID-19 lockdown
Critical and Radical Social Work
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. Following a successful small-scale case study conducted by the authors, the aim of this randomized controlled trial was to further ...
Computers in the Schools, 2012
In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-bas... more In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-based learning. Early years education is a distinctive phase of the education system in many countries, generally covering the age range from 3–6 or 7 years. In the United Kingdom, it tends to bridge preschool and the first two years in primary school.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2011
In a recent Colloquium piece (BJET vol. 41, no. 6), the authors, two prominent professors of cogn... more In a recent Colloquium piece (BJET vol. 41, no. 6), the authors, two prominent professors of cognitive neuroscience, offered a critique of the study by Miller and Robertson (2010) ('Using a games console in the primary classroom: Effects of "Brain Training" programme on computation and self-esteem ', BJET vol. 41, no. 2). We feel that we should correct some errors and misunderstandings and respond to the comments made in that piece. There are four substantive issues raised by Logie and Della Sala and we look at these in turn.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2011
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. The studies that are available tend to be limited in terms of output data reported, or small in scale, or both. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to upscale a recent study by Miller and Robertson investigating the effects of a commercial off-the-shelf computer game on children's mental computation skills and self-perceptions. A pre-post design was employed, with 634 primary (elementary) school children (10-11 years old) from 32 schools across Scotland. Schools were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. In the experimental schools, children used a games console for 20 minutes each day, running a 'brain training' game. The controls continued with their normal routine. The treatment period was 9 weeks. Significant pre-post gains in accuracy and speed of calculations were found in both experimental and control groups over the treatment period. Gains in the experimental group were 50% greater than those of the controls in accuracy, and twice those of the controls in speed. There were no significant changes in two measures of self-concept for either group. There was a small but statistically significant improvement in attitude towards school among the experimental group but not the controls. When scores were analysed by ability, different patterns were apparent. The design of the study allows a degree of confidence when generalising from these results. Some implications of the findings are discussed.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2010
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the effects of a commercial off-the-shelf computer game on children's mental computation skills and on aspects of self-perceptions. A pre-post design was employed. The participants were 71 primary school children (10-11 years old) from three classes. In School 1, a class of 21 children used a games console for 20 minutes each day, running a 'brain training' game. Two comparison groups were used. In School 2, 31 children used 'Brain Gym' techniques in their class over the treatment period. In school three, a class of 19 children acted as no-treatment controls. The treatment period was 10 weeks. Significant pre-post gains were found in the games console group for both accuracy and speed of calculations, while results for the two comparison groups were mixed. The games console group showed significant gains in global self-esteem, but not in other aspects of self-concept. The comparison groups showed no significant gains in any area of selfperceptions. There is a need now for upscaling to investigate generalisability.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. Following a successful small-scale case study conducted by the authors, the aim of this randomized controlled trial was to further ...
Computers in The Schools, 2012
In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-bas... more In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-based learning. Early years education is a distinctive phase of the education system in many countries, generally covering the age range from 3–6 or 7 years. In the United Kingdom, it tends to bridge preschool and the first two years in primary school. Early years education is based on characteristic values, beliefs, and practices which distinguish it from later phases of mainstream educational provision. Based on an analysis of these characteristics, we argue that it is an example of a signature pedagogy. We look at the role of information and communication technologies in such pedagogy, specifically the use of digital games, illustrating the case with reference to a recent empirical study which looked at the use of a commercial off-the-shelf game with 5- and 6-year old children. We conclude by reaffirming the congruence between such games and a signature pedagogy of early years education. The role of the teacher, and in particular his/her pedagogical skill, is central to the educational use of commercial games.
Scottish Educational Review
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
Education Sciences
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Education Sciences, 2021
This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools ... more This paper looks at the impact of digital technology on teaching and learning in primary schools in Scotland during the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020. The pandemic has challenged our understanding of schooling as, for the first time in many years, schools as we know them were shut and the school building was removed as the site of teaching and learning. This paper uses the concept of Thirdspace as developed by Edward Soja (1996), where Thirdspace is understood as an in-between space between binaries that enables the possibility to think and act otherwise. Drawing from qualitative data from interviews with primary school teachers, this paper explores how the lockdown in general, and digital technology in particular, facilitated a Thirdspace in the first COVID-19 lockdown. Findings from the study indicate that engaging with digital technology offers the teacher more possibilities than they have come to expect in the physical space of traditional schooling.
Keywords: digital technology; home-learning; Thirdspace; primary teachers; Scotland; COVID-19 lockdown
Critical and Radical Social Work
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. Following a successful small-scale case study conducted by the authors, the aim of this randomized controlled trial was to further ...
Computers in the Schools, 2012
In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-bas... more In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-based learning. Early years education is a distinctive phase of the education system in many countries, generally covering the age range from 3–6 or 7 years. In the United Kingdom, it tends to bridge preschool and the first two years in primary school.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2011
In a recent Colloquium piece (BJET vol. 41, no. 6), the authors, two prominent professors of cogn... more In a recent Colloquium piece (BJET vol. 41, no. 6), the authors, two prominent professors of cognitive neuroscience, offered a critique of the study by Miller and Robertson (2010) ('Using a games console in the primary classroom: Effects of "Brain Training" programme on computation and self-esteem ', BJET vol. 41, no. 2). We feel that we should correct some errors and misunderstandings and respond to the comments made in that piece. There are four substantive issues raised by Logie and Della Sala and we look at these in turn.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2011
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. The studies that are available tend to be limited in terms of output data reported, or small in scale, or both. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to upscale a recent study by Miller and Robertson investigating the effects of a commercial off-the-shelf computer game on children's mental computation skills and self-perceptions. A pre-post design was employed, with 634 primary (elementary) school children (10-11 years old) from 32 schools across Scotland. Schools were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. In the experimental schools, children used a games console for 20 minutes each day, running a 'brain training' game. The controls continued with their normal routine. The treatment period was 9 weeks. Significant pre-post gains in accuracy and speed of calculations were found in both experimental and control groups over the treatment period. Gains in the experimental group were 50% greater than those of the controls in accuracy, and twice those of the controls in speed. There were no significant changes in two measures of self-concept for either group. There was a small but statistically significant improvement in attitude towards school among the experimental group but not the controls. When scores were analysed by ability, different patterns were apparent. The design of the study allows a degree of confidence when generalising from these results. Some implications of the findings are discussed.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2010
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the effects of a commercial off-the-shelf computer game on children's mental computation skills and on aspects of self-perceptions. A pre-post design was employed. The participants were 71 primary school children (10-11 years old) from three classes. In School 1, a class of 21 children used a games console for 20 minutes each day, running a 'brain training' game. Two comparison groups were used. In School 2, 31 children used 'Brain Gym' techniques in their class over the treatment period. In school three, a class of 19 children acted as no-treatment controls. The treatment period was 10 weeks. Significant pre-post gains were found in the games console group for both accuracy and speed of calculations, while results for the two comparison groups were mixed. The games console group showed significant gains in global self-esteem, but not in other aspects of self-concept. The comparison groups showed no significant gains in any area of selfperceptions. There is a need now for upscaling to investigate generalisability.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009
It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence... more It is known that computer games are motivating for children, but there is limited direct evidence of their effects on classroom learning. Following a successful small-scale case study conducted by the authors, the aim of this randomized controlled trial was to further ...
Computers in The Schools, 2012
In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-bas... more In this article we look at the links between early years pedagogy and the use of digital game-based learning. Early years education is a distinctive phase of the education system in many countries, generally covering the age range from 3–6 or 7 years. In the United Kingdom, it tends to bridge preschool and the first two years in primary school. Early years education is based on characteristic values, beliefs, and practices which distinguish it from later phases of mainstream educational provision. Based on an analysis of these characteristics, we argue that it is an example of a signature pedagogy. We look at the role of information and communication technologies in such pedagogy, specifically the use of digital games, illustrating the case with reference to a recent empirical study which looked at the use of a commercial off-the-shelf game with 5- and 6-year old children. We conclude by reaffirming the congruence between such games and a signature pedagogy of early years education. The role of the teacher, and in particular his/her pedagogical skill, is central to the educational use of commercial games.