Lance and John get to know an integrated learning system

An integrated learning system (ILS) is a computer-based tutoring program which provides students with learning experiences in many disciplines across many years of school. This paper reports on two Year 6 students' reactions to the electronic worksheets they encountered in their first 3 sessions on the ILS. Each session was video-taped and the students were individually interviewed at the end of the three sessions to determine: (a) what new procedures they were required to learn in the computer environment, and (b) the understanding they gained of the content delivered to them via the electronic worksheets. This paper reports on this interview which focused on how students "got to know" the procedures which would enable them to progress through the ILS. The results showed that the students: (a) had to adjust their "school maths" procedures to accommodate the ILS procedures, and (b) were able to progress in terms of the systems' evaluation of their ability with impoverished understanding. The paper discusses reasons for this and the propensity of systems of this type to focus on syntactical and instrumental understanding.