The purpose of this document is to present the findings from the evaluation of the ‘Embedding ICT in the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies’ pilot project. In this project interactive whiteboards (IWBs) were installed in Year 5 and Year 6 classes in 12-15 schools in each of six Local Education Authorities (LEAs): Cumbria, Bracknell Forest, Lewisham, Oxfordshire, Redcar and Cleveland, and Wakefield. In each of these LEAs a local co-ordinator was appointed as an IWB Consultant to manage the project locally and to provide training and support to the teachers involved. The pilot project ran from Autumn 2002 to Summer 2004.
The evaluation, undertaken by a team based in the Centre for Learning and Teaching in the School of Education Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University investigated aspects of classroom interaction through a series of structured observations, the views of teachers and pupils through interviews, teachers’ weekly records of IWB use and the impact on pupils’ attainment through their performance in national Key Stage 2 tests. In addition a literature review was undertaken to support both the pilot project and the evaluation.