The role of teacher capacity and instructional practice in the integration of educational technology for emergent bilingual students

This mixed methods study examines the extent to which the use, and intensity of use, of educational technology is associated with improved academic outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) in both English/Spanish bilingual and traditional English-only classrooms. We also explore the role of teacher capacity and practice in integrating educational technology by student population and instructional setting across six schools serving a student population of predominately low-income ELLs. Building on limited prior work on technology integration with elementary school ELLs, the analysis draws on district administrative data, teacher surveys, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. In econometric analyses of academic outcomes associated with exposure to varying intensities of technology use, we identified positive associations of technology use in reading, starting at around 40 min of weekly use in bilingual classrooms versus 1 h of weekly use in traditional classrooms. While the average reading effect size topped out at 0.20 for students with 2 h of weekly technology use in reading in traditional classrooms, the reading effect size continued to rise in bilingual classrooms to over 0.50 for students in classrooms using technology for 3 h a week in reading. We also found that technology use in reading-where teachers were observed more frequently using blended instructional strategies-was more effective for students in bilingual classes than technology use in math. Our findings suggest that alignment of technology with constructivist teaching strategies, which connect student learning to culturally relevant experiences and provide opportunities for interactivity and collaboration, is key to transforming the learning process and outcomes of emergent bilingual students.