Riihimäki replaces middle schools' digital learning materials with traditional ones - in the background extensive investigation work

The city of Riihimäki has taken care of parents' and teachers' concerns about how studying on digital devices in schools affects the schooling and well-being of young people. The city investigated the use of learning materials in the city's schools with an extensive survey in December 2023 and January 2024. Such an extensive survey is reportedly the first of its kind in Finland.

Despite the digitalization of Finnish schools, only a little research information on basic education using digital learning materials has accumulated. In the light of current research information, the large amount of time spent on digital devices is known to pose risks to the health and learning of children and young people.

Most of the learning material is digital in middle schools

Riihimäki decided to investigate the matter, because the situation in the city's middle schools (6th to 9th grades) is exceptional even nationally: the vast majority of learning material is electronic. All students have laptops and physical textbooks have generally been replaced by digital learning materials.

"One of the tasks of elementary schools is to prepare young people to meet the demands of the digital environment. However, it is important to note that the digitalization of schools is not an uncontrollable avalanche, but we ourselves have the keys to control it. We can modify the teaching in the light of research information in such a way that it supports the student's learning and health in the best way", says Jari Lausvaara, director of education in the city of Riihimäki.

Riihimäki asked neuropsychologist Minna Peltopuro to participate in the research.

"I was excited to be able to make a report, because the topic interests me not only as a professional but also personally as a parent. As far as I know, similar survey work, mainly regarding the use of electronic learning material, has not been done before in other cities. In Riihimäki, the sampling was quite extensive, as a total of around 2 participants responded to the survey," says Peltopuro.

The experiences of students, parents and teachers to the fore

The city sent a survey about learning materials to middle school students, their guardians, and middle school staff at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. The survey was open until the end of January 2024.

In addition, a survey was sent to individual experts in various fields, such as school doctors and psychologists, regarding the safe use of digital devices by primary school-aged children.

The survey found out which learning materials are used in the teaching of different subjects in Riihimäki middle schools and how their suitability for learning the subject is perceived. A total of almost 2 responses were received to the study material survey from students (000), guardians (1) and teachers (113). About every second guardian of a middle school student answered the survey.

In the teachers' answers, the electronic material was felt to be well suited for providing additional challenges, developing digital skills and evaluation. From the teachers' point of view, the paper material was well suited for strengthening skills, supporting concentration, and supporting the learning of the Finnish language.

In the survey, the parents (over 500) hoped that their middle school-aged children would prefer to use paper learning materials (textbook, exercise book, notebook) at school instead of electronic ones.

On the other hand, high school-aged youth thought that electronic learning materials suited them better than what the teachers felt was useful in teaching. For example, in physics, chemistry and foreign languages, the teachers felt the role of traditional textbooks and exercise books was more important than the students.

Based on the results, learning materials are exchanged for books

Based on the survey's conclusions, from the fall of 2024, Riihimäki middle schools will use more traditional paper learning materials than before.

"Based on the results of the survey, we are thinking more and more carefully about when it is justified to use electronic and when paper solutions. The same solution is not suitable for all subjects or for all students. For the teaching of mathematics, English, Swedish and German, traditional paper learning materials have been ordered for the beginning semester. The use of books in these subjects will also be continued in the following years," says director of education Lausvaara.

The settings of the equipment provided by the schools will also be changed.

"Based on the results of the survey, we decided to limit middle school students' laptop access only to sites and applications used for studying, and to implement a nighttime curfew. In the future, laptops will be locked between 22:6 and XNUMX:XNUMX. We also calm down lessons from students' smartphones."

In the basic education of the city of Riihimäki, technology will continue to be used to support learning. Riihimäki is known nationally and internationally as the capital of robotics education. Every elementary school student in Riihimäkä gets 250 hours of robotics instruction during elementary school.

"In promoting digital skills, one can be very ambitious without the student's learning materials being electronic. Targeted practice of digital skills does not require that all the student's learning material be electronic. Studying robotics also increases students' digital capabilities. In robotics, a lot of work is done in small groups, which means building and ideating together, cooperation and problem solving," says Lausvaara.

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