Literacy teaching with tablets in bilingual primary classrooms : the Malta tabLit study

Abstract

This chapter outlines the ways in which teachers in five primary classrooms in Malta used tablets over the six months for the teaching of bilingual literacy. The official policy, as outlined in the National Literacy Strategy for Malta, is of balanced literacy teaching and learning in the two languages of schooing in Malta: Maltese and English. Teachers’ planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction and pedagogy were documented using a focus group, classroom observations, teacher interviews and reflective diaries and student questionnaires. Findings showed that the teachers integrated the use of tablets in their teaching for a number of creative literacy activities in the two languages, including reading comprehension, and guided and creative writing. The chapter concludes with recommendations for teachers’ professional development, including school-based professional and technological support and ways to strengthen school-home links with the use of tablets.