F. Some ways in which MIICE has been used
The MIICE quality framework or toolbox has been used by a wide range of individual professionals, schools, education authorities, universities and other agencies to help them to articulate 'progress' when learning is being planned or reviewed which incorporates the use of ICT
The following is only a small selection of the ways in which a small number of individuals and agencies have found MIICE useful
More detail can be found on the MIICE website
Aberdeen City Council used MIICE as part of an investigation in the Autumn of 2002 into the wider impact on learning of their uses of integrated learning systems such as SuccessMaker and RM Maths. You can download a Zip file containing 3 PDF files
- the full report on the project
- the summary report on the project
- the questionnaire which was used to conduct the interviews
Aberdeen ILS review collection
The impact of ILS on children's learning
The measures, adapted from the MIICE toolbox, on which teachers are confident of the contribution of ILS include the following
- Ability to carry on a programme of work with a high degree of retention
- Pupils are quick to get under way when they use the system
- Pupils focus on the task in hand and avoid distractions
- The measures which attracted the lowest average scores (and often high 'non participation') include the following
- Pupils' ability to add refinements on their own initiative
- Systematically putting things right when they go wrong
- Pupils' willingly try out new approaches
- Teachers consistently promote high standards in the preparation of the work
- Teachers create atmosphere conducive to trialling of new approaches
Conclusions
Integrated learning systems are good at promoting 'steady' aspects of learning - being methodical, being focused. But they are not generally best suited to offer practice in 'imaginative' or 'collaborative' aspects of learning, although teachers can make best use of these opportunities, here as elsewhere, if given help to identify and realise the opportunities
East Lothian Council used MIICE to help them to assess progress in their schools in respect of ICT. They adapted a selection of the outcomes and components into a familiar format, as illustrated below
East Lothian ICT performance document
Iain Midgley told those attending the MIICE conference in Edinburgh in May 2004 that MIICE had been helpful in Falkirk's project to assess the quality of work being done in the information handling outcome of 5-14 mathematics
Falkirk Council is a partner in the MIICE project. This study not only looked at the Impact of ICT on Information handling, but was a pilot to review the MIICE toolkit as an assessment tool.
The toolkit has its emphasis on general learning skills rather than specific ICT practical skills. The MIICE toolbox reflects the range of benefits which good use of ICT can deliver, by listing and describing 13 'learning outcomes' and their components.
The toolbox comprises 13 learning outcomes such as (1) Learner Reflection and (2) Skills Development. The first seven of these outcomes relate to learning by pupils. Numbers 8-10 relate to schools' management of effective learning. Numbers 11-13 relate to continuing professional development in the use of ICT for teachers.
The toolkit offers a qualitative assessment of ICT, asking teachers their opinions on the current level of attainment.
There have been a number of benefits in using the MIICE toolkit:
- The toolkit is flexible and can be refined to suit the purposes of the study.
- It focuses on pupils' learning and attainment rather than just skill and use of ICT.
- The interview technique can reveal a lot of information and allows teachers to talk about a broad range of issues.
- Teachers reflect on their practice whilst answering the questions.
- The toolkit reviews ICT use in detail against a number of learning outcomes.
- Takes into consideration the feelings of teachers and pupils.
Limits to using the toolkit were:
- The toolkit gives qualitative information and should perhaps be used in tandem with a more quantitative study looking at the ratio of computers to pupils in each school, timetabling, actual pupil contact time with ICT.
- Carrying out interviews has limited the number of staff approached. To study a wider range of staff and schools would involve greater "manpower".
- Time considerations limited the number of learning outcomes reviewed.
Calum Maxwell of Ladywell Primary School in Motherwell (North Lanarkshire) has mapped the links between Charter Mark, How good is our school? and the MIICE quality framework
AppleWorks version of document linking Charter Mark, HGIOS and MIICE
PDF version of document linking Charter Mark, HGIOS and MIICE
Jim Scott and Jim Hynd indicated some of the ways in which they have used MIICE for planning and monitoring progress in aspects of Perth High School's ICT development plan, including plans for CPD at the MIICE conference in Edinburgh in May 2004
A selection of the MIICE elements which the school made was the basis of one of the occasional series of MIICE discussion papers, published in August 2003