of the requirements for
EME 7939
Department of Secondary Education
University of South Florida
Tampa
April 1999
Professor: James A. White, Ph. D.
Many students with limited computer skills fear asking questions in the large lecture hall of EME 2040: Introduction to Educational Technology, a prerequisite for all those entering the College of Education. Web-based discussion groups and reflective journals are proposed as two alternatives for learning. Students will be screened and based on skills and gender, they will be randomly assigned to four groups: electronic journals, directed e-journals, web-based discussion, and directed web-based discussion. They will complete questionnaires on attitudes and self-efficacy toward the use of computers in the classroom. At mid-semester these students will posttest using the same questionnaire. At the end of the course students will take a second or follow-up posttest. The data collected with these inventories will be used in a repeated measures ANCOVA. It is anticipated that those participating in the directed journal writing and the directed web-based discussion groups will exhibit increased self-efficacy and improved attitude more than the web-based discussion group.
Nature and Significance of the Problem
Attitude
Research Design
Appendix A: Survey Questions for Study
Appendix B: Course Assistants' Training
Figure 1: Havland and Rosenberg three-component model of attitude organizationFigure 2: The theory of reasoned action from Ajzen and Fishbein
Figure 3: Flowchart for group assignment and participation in study
In the climate of today's "School to Work" initiatives, it is important that graduates of the college of education are ready, willing and able to integrate technology in the classroom. This integration of technology mirrors the integration of technology in the business world and prepares students for work in today's information age.
"By the year 2000, 60 percent of the new jobs in America will require advanced technological skills. That is why President Clinton and I have called on parents, teachers, leading CEOs and others to join us in a new national mission. We have issued a challenge to America that calls for every young person to enter the workforce technologically literate in the 21st Century." Al Gore, Vice President (1998)
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) task force's 1997 report on the study of issues regarding technology in teacher education curricula calls for the incorporation of technology in all phases of teacher preparation, not simply in one computer literacy semester.
Increasingly central to the role of the new professional teacher is the ability to employ technology to improve student learning and to employ technology in the many facets of professional work. This will require new understandings, new approaches, new roles, new forms of professional growth, and new attitudes. (National Council For Accreditation of Teacher Education Task Force on Technology, 1997)
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and NCATE proposes standards for preservice teacher education in technology. ISTE recommends that teacher candidates possess personal computing skills for "enhancing … professional growth and productivity." Preservice teachers must also have the ability to apply computers and related technologies to the planning and delivery of instructional units (1997). NCATE's Standards, Procedures and Policies for the Accreditation of Professional Education Units (1998) contains technology indicators for each of the themes in the standards.
Nature and Significance of the Problem
EME 2040: Introduction to Educational Technology, a prerequisite course for entrance into the College of Education at the University of South Florida, focuses on introducing pre-service education students to the use of computers and related technology in the classroom. The course includes instruction in hardware, e-mail and the World Wide Web (WWW), word processing, learning theory, databases and spreadsheets, courseware evaluation, instructional pedagogy, and electronic presentation programs.
After more than ten years, this introductory course continues to evolve, developing from an upper level elective into a sophomore prerequisite. When first taught, most students entered class with little or no knowledge of computers or technology uses in the classroom. Today many students are coming to class with advanced skills in technology and an increased knowledge of how technology is used in high schools and perhaps even elementary schools. Each year more students attend to college with their own computer and each year more post-secondary schools require students to have their own computer.
Although these students are generally more advanced in their knowledge of and about computers, there is still a wide range of attitudes towards and skill levels in the use of technology both personally instructionally. Some are non-traditional students returning to school after many years and have difficulty approaching the technology in a self-assured manner. Other students are freshmen and sophomores with extensive experience but no knowledge of how technology might be useful in the classroom.
Many students have questions about the use of technology and the development of technology skills in these introductory classes. Some are reluctant to voice these concerns in a large lecture class with other student who have demonstrated advanced levels of knowledge. These students should have an opportunity to participate in smaller, more supportive classroom environments, but with an enrollment of upwards of 200 students this is, at best, time consuming and awkward.
As a solution to the dilemma of optimizing classroom experience with smaller classes and the budgetary constraints of a large university, this study proposes using technology as a model for students continuing in college of education. In the past, students experienced little success with listservs and newsgroups, but now with the development of web-based courses in a box such as Web CT or Top Class, e-mail discussion groups (forums) can be used to enhance the educational experience in classes such as this (Nonis, Bronack, & Haton, 1998). These software tools create an environment of chat rooms and white boards that can facilitate discussion groups and increase interactivity among students in a way that enhances learning about technology.
Other researchers have advocated the use of electronic journals for the facilitation of learning in similar courses. Students use reflective journals to foster the creation of knowledge constructs that increase understanding and foster retention of learning (Kovalchick, Milman, & Elizabeth, 1998).
This study proposes to compare directed and undirected on-line discussion groups and directed and undirected electronic journal groups in an effort to discover which of these might be a better strategy for increased learner participation and enhancement of technology abilities of students.
- What predetermined attitudes and self-efficacy constructs regarding the use of technology, and especially the use of technology in the classroom, do students participating in an introductory educational technology course bring to the course?
- In light of the changing use of technology in high school classrooms, what level of experience do these students bring to this course?
- Do students participating in an introductory educational technology course experience a change in attitude toward the use of computers as a result of participation in the course?
- Do students participating in an introductory educational technology course experience a change in self-efficacy constructs towards the use of computers as a result of participation in the course?
- Does participation in directed or undirected small web-based discussion groups enhance the change in attitude and self-efficacy constructs for students in an introductory educational technology class?
- Does participation in electronic journal writing enhance the change in attitude and self-efficacy constructs for students in an introductory educational technology class?
This study is generalizable to populations of lower level undergraduate students prior to entering a college of education. These students are beginning formal studies in education and have little or no foundation in formal educational theories. The class is taught in large lecture format and thus applies to classes taught in this manner.
The major limitation in this study is the ability of students to interact and discuss ideas learned through participation in any of the treatment groups. This effect was not controlled for and interaction among participant groups was not measured.
The field of social psychology is built on the proposition that attitudes are of utmost importance. Indeed whole volumes have been authored on the subject (Eiser, 1994; Petty & Krosnick, 1995; Pratkanis, Breckler, & Greenwald, 1989; Wrightsman, 1992). L. L. Thurstone had three theoretical concerns about attitude: the nature of the construct of attitude, the continuum on which attitudes were located, and the correspondence between one's subjective attitudinal responses and the overt responses(Ostrum, 1989, p. 16). Allport’s definition stated "that an attitude is a state of readiness that exerts a dynamic influence upon an individual’s responses" (p. 16). When Likert conducted his original studies, it was a surprise to find that there was a correlation among items. This led to the theory that belief homogeneity (internal consistency) underlies all attitudes (p. 20).
During the 1980’s social cognition theories gave a new orientation to the theories of attitude. The theories of social cognition outlined principles and methods of information processing essential for a complete understanding of complex social behavior in the analysis of attitudes (Pratkanis et al., 1989). Likert refined his instrument for assessing social cognition constructs while statisticians
at the same time developed mathematical constructs to analyze data from these instruments for internal consistency and correlation.
This diagram shows attitude as not one simple construct, but a complex system with three ‘components’: "affect" (feelings, emotions), "cognition" (beliefs), and "behavior" (actions). The problems with this model arise out of the concepts that each of these subsystems may or may not relate to the others or appear independent of the others.
In the model proposed by Eiser (Figure 2) behavior is mediated by intention. If the behavior is unintentional, then it should not be predicted by attitude. Intention is influenced not only by attitude but also "subjective norm" or beliefs about how others whose opinion is valued view the behavior. Attitude is derived from the beliefs about the consequences of the behavior. To put this in terms of technology instruction, the subjective norm would be structured on what others (students in the class or instructor) may think about this behavior. The attitude towards the technology is based on beliefs about the consequences of the behavior which are both balanced as to relative importance. If the subjective norm attitude was to over balance the attitude, then the behavior should win out.
Figure 2: The theory of reasoned action from Ajzen and
Fishbein
(Note: From Attitudes, Chaos and the Connectionist Mind (p. 22) by
J. R. Eiser, 1994, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Copyright 1994 by J. R. Eiser.
Reprinted with permission.)
Computer anxiety has been identified as a specific form of test anxiety, which interferes with learning and performance (Hakkinen, 1994). For some this anxiety manifests itself as a genuine "computer phobia" while in others it may be so mild as to only cause an uncomfortable feeling (McInerney, McInerney, & Sinclair, 1994). Loyd and Gressard have postulated that computer anxiety has as a major component lack of experience with computers (1984). Albert Bandura states "people fear and avoid threatening situations they believe exceed their coping abilities, whereas they behave assuredly when they judge themselves capable of managing situations that would otherwise intimidate them"(p. 389). He proposes that through participation in tasks ordered in magnitude from the simpler to more difficult, that self-efficacy can be enhanced. He then asserts that the increase in self-efficacy results in an increase in approach behavior for the feared task (Bandura, 1977).
Bandura (1977) has defined outcome expectancy as "a person's estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes." He further explains that "an efficacy expectation is the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes." (p. 391) He makes the distinction between outcome and efficacy expectations since one can believe that a certain behavior will have the predicted outcome, but have serious doubts about whether they can perform the behavior. Later Bandura refined the definition of self-efficacy as "people's judgements of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances. It is concerned not with the skills one has but with the judgements of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses" and "the strength of people's convictions in their own effectiveness is likely to affect whether they will even attempt to cope with given situations." (Bandura, 1986, p. 391).
Pajares in his review of self-efficacy states:
"These beliefs of personal competence affect behavior in several ways. They influence the choices individuals make and the courses of action they pursue. People engage in tasks in which they feel competent and confident and avoid those in which they do not. If ... experience is essentially what individuals choose to attend to, then self-beliefs that influence those choices are instrumental in defining one's experience and providing an avenue through which individuals exercise control over the events that affect their lives" (1996, p. 556).
Efficacy expectations have several dimensions: (1) magnitude which affects the level of difficulty attempted; (2) generality which refers to feelings of efficacy transferred to other areas of behavior even though they are not the same as previously performed behaviors; and (3) strength which has to do with how efficacious a person may feel about a behavior (Bandura, 1977).
Bandura has also proposed that self-efficacy expectations are based on four major sources of information: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states (Bandura et al., 1977, p. 195). Performance accomplishments are of particular concern in an introductory technology course where repeated success in the required tasks should result in reinforced self-efficacy as a result of personal mastery. Participant modeling of behavior has been utilized as the primary vehicle of psychological change in the elimination of defensive behaviors. As participants model increasing more threatening activities without the expected horrific outcomes, their perception of the severity of personal danger is decreased over time.
People do not rely solely on their own experiences to develop a feeling of self-efficacy. Seeing others perform the threatening activity often increases our own construct of "If she can do that, then I can do it, too." Teachers often model behaviors for students who then believe that they, too, can perform the required task. Bandura (1977) proposed that diversified modeling where a variety of models showing that an activity is safe would be superior to modeling by one person. "If people of widely differing characteristics can succeed, then observers have a reasonable basis for increasing their own sense of self-efficacy" (p. 197).
Cervone (as cited in Rabinowitz, 1993) proposed that people make estimates of their efficacy based on random anchoring cues. He examined subjects' persistence on a challenging activity. Subjects were asked to predict how many of a certain type of geometry problem they could solve and were then presented with a set of problems, some of which were unsolvable. Those who had been exposed to a high estimate of their ability to solve the problems persisted far longer than those who were exposed to a low estimate even though both groups had similar ranges of ability. This study concluded that goal motivation is based on three parts: "(a.) 'The self' is not a single, unitary, undifferentiated entity… (b.) social contexts play a critical role in activating particular aspects of self-referent thinking; and (c.) social behavior and affect are most influenced by those aspect(s) of self that are highly activated in a given setting" (Rabinowitz, 1993, p. 88).
Self-efficacy consistently proves to be a reliable predictor of student performance (Bandura et al., 1977) and measures of self-efficacy have been shown to be accurate predictors of performance on computer related tasks (Clawson, 1996; Ertmer, Evenbeck, Cennamo, & Lehman, 1994). Operations as simple as e-mail and word processing can be used to increase a student’s self-efficacy (Ertmer et al., 1994). Harrison et al. tested this theory of the linkage of self-efficacy and performance in a work environment. They proposed that one of the limitations of Bandura's research was that it was performed in the laboratory. Their study examined the relationship of self-efficacy perceptions to task-specific performance in a work setting. Their research supported the hypotheses that decreased performance with computer related tasks was found to be significantly related to lower levels of self-efficacy and increased performance was related to higher levels of self-efficacy (1997). Pajares proposed that:
"people with a strong sense of personal efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided, have greater intrinsic interest and deep engrossment in activities, set themselves challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to them, heighten and sustain their efforts in the face of failure, more quickly recover their sense of efficacy after failures or setbacks, and attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills which are acquirable" (1998).
Those with low self-efficacy experience a narrow view of their ability to succeed. For these students, the class must be structured so they can meet with success in a series of increasingly difficult tasks in a supportive environment. As the student experiences success, the level of difficulty can be increased. The learning situation must be structured so that the student attributes success to her own abilities and not to "luck" or some other equally ambiguous concept. For education majors, this increased self-efficacy should lead to increased motivation and a commitment to the use of computers in the classroom.
Constructivism posits that children build ("construct") their own learning based on frameworks constructed by trial and reflection. These frameworks are the foundation of learning not only as a child, but also as one matures into adulthood. The notion that one "absorbs" information by sitting in a lecture hall listening as a professor recites the facts has simply not worked out as a reliable model. Students learn the facts for the test and promptly forget them.
Constructivists would hold that through problem solving and reflection students "hang" new knowledge on the hooks provided in the current learning framework. The newest ideas are related to past knowledge to form new schema that help the learner solve problems and create new frameworks on which to further build knowledge structures.
With preservice teachers, much learning can occur in a reflective environment where students are encouraged to share ideas and problems, to collaborate and problem solve in a meaningful and constructive way. Journals are a tool that has been widely used in science and language arts subject areas for student reflections, problems, feelings and thoughts about topics of discussion or study (Kovalchick et al., 1998). With electronic or e-journals students are not only learning the skills of word processing and e-mail, but also reflecting on other technology processes being explored in class or labs.
Another means of encouraging students to reflect and collaborate using an electronic medium is the web-based discussion. Until recently it was not easy for students in list groups to share thoughts and ideas about several subjects using a listserv or a newsgroup forum. With the advent of several of the web-course-in-a-box type programs it has become easier not only for students, but also instructors to create discussion forums which become familiar as students are encouraged to use it. Web CT has had some success on campus as faculty create sites for student use. The password protection provides security for both faculty and students who wish their work to remain protected.
Bodzin and Park (1998) describe the use of a similar web-course, NetForum, to create a forum for preservice intern teachers to communicate with each other and their instructors. They note that on several occasions students posted problems that were frustrating them familiar as students are encouraged to use it. They did note that some had problems either locating a computer with Internet access at their school or with the convenience of the location at the school.
As more and more schools are networked, this problem should become less of an issue. Students at USF must either have their own computer and internet access through the university or an independent Internet Service Provider (ISP) or use the networked computer labs on campus to complete many of the assignments in the introductory educational technology course.
In their review of the literature, Dupagne and Krendi (1992) developed an instrument to measure both attitude and self-efficacy toward computers. They concluded that teachers in the 1990’s have, overall, expressed positive attitudes toward the use of microcomputers in the classroom. Teachers expressed complaints about not enough time to sufficiently utilize the technology or to discover and develop appropriate ways to implement this technology. The role of the principal was seen as key to how the implementation proceeds and principals generally had high positive attitudes towards implementation. The more willing teachers were to use computers in the classroom, the more favorable their attitude. Teachers who owned their own computers were more likely to show favorable attitudes. Lack of training did seem to account for teachers' lack of confidence when initiating computer activities indicating a need for more inservice and workshop training for teachers.
Loyd's computer attitude measurement utilized a standardized Likert-type instrument, called the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) which was administered to teachers, high school students and university personnel. This instrument was found to have coefficient alpha reliabilities of .86 for Computer Anxiety, .91 for Computer Liking, .91 for Computer confidence and .95 for the Total Score. The findings of the factor analysis (factor loading at or above .35) indicate that the scores of the three subscales are quite stable suggesting each of the subscales could be used as a separate score (Loyd & Gressard, 1984, pp. 503-504).
Researchers appear to have a preference for their own particular questions; consequently there are several other Likert type instruments that have been tested for internal validity and reliability (Harrison & Rainer, 1992; Kluever, Lam, Hoffman, Green, & Swearingen, 1994; Loyd & Gressard, 1984; Loyd & Loyd, 1985; Simonsen, Maurer, Montag-Torardi, & Whitaker, 1987). Delcourt and Kinzie (1993) developed an instrument to measure both attitudes toward computers (ACT) and self-efficacy for computer technologies (SCT). The ACT is a 19 item Likert type instrument measuring usefulness and comfort/anxiety, The self-efficacy portion consists of 25 items in the areas of word processing, electronic mail and CD-ROM databases. An internal consistency rating (alpha) of .89 was obtained for the ACT and for each of the three areas of self-efficacy internal consistency rating (alpha) of .97, .98, and .98 respectively for each of the sub-areas of the instrument. Buhendwa in a later study realized similar results for a survey that contained only minor modifications (Buhendwa, 1996).
The researcher proposes to use a pretest-posttest design. Students in the EME 2040: Introduction to Educational Technology class will complete a survey instrument indicating their levels of experience with technology to determine pre-existing skill levels in the use of computers. They will also complete the attitudes about and self-efficacy questionnaires (Delcourt & Kinzie, 1993). The questionnaires will be administered using the World Wide Web (WWW) for the submission and recording of data (Pretest).
Following the initial inventory, students will be grouped by skill level and gender to be assigned as separate subject pools for random assignment to four treatment groups. The skill levels will be determined based on responses to Section 1 of the web-based questionnaire. Those students responding "Very Little" to Questions 5 and 6 will be the "Little or None" group. Those responding to question 5 with "Some" and "Neither Little nor a Lot" as well as checking up to five items for question 6 will constitute the "Some Experience" group. Those responding "Very Much" and "A Lot" to Question 5 and more than five items in Question 6 will be the "Experienced" group (see Figure 3).
All groups will access course materials using Web CT web based course development program. Half of the students will be assigned to e-journal groups
and half to web-based discussion groups. One of the discussion groups will be encouraged to participate in on-line moderated discussions of their own initiative and choosing as long as the topics are related to course material. Course assistants will monitor the discussions to insure that it remains related to the topics discussed in class. The other discussion will be directed with focus questions related to the material presented in class each week. The two e-journal groups will consist of directed with the same questions as the discussion group or undirected.
Since the researcher is also the course instructor, she will not participate in the groups directly. Course assistants will monitor discussion to ensure that it stays related to the topics discussed in class.
The course assistants will receive training in skills needed to facilitate the discussion groups so as to insure that all groups are consistent. This training will encompass what does or does not qualify as "off topic" and how to get the discussion back on track. Course assistants will receive examples of off task behavior and will select from a series of intervention statements so as to insure equivalent behaviors (see Appendix B).
At the mid-point of the course (same week as mid-term exam), students will take the same inventory of attitudes and self-efficacy (Posttest 1). At the conclusion of the course (same week as final exam), students will complete a follow up inventory (Posttest 2). These inventories will form the database for the repeated measures ANCOVA.
Figure 3: Flowchart for group assignment and participation in study.
Students talk to each other. Since all the participants are in the same lecture section there is a good possibility that they will share ideas and discussions outside of the computer based environment. This researcher is still grappling with a method of controlling this variable. If not controlled, this interaction among students could cloud the issue as to which of the methods, e-journals or web-based discussion groups, contributed to any effect that may be seen in the results. This researcher is still grappling with a method of controlling this variable.
A repeated measures ANCOVA where treatment group, gender and skill level (novice, experienced, expert) are the independent variables with time (Pretest, Posttest 1 or Posttest 2) as the covariant will be employed. A statistical software package will be used to perform these data analyses.
References are availables on request from the author.
For complete viewing of all questions please link to each of these pages.
Self-Efficacy and Attitude Questionnaire
The course assistants (CA) will receive training for the administration of Web CT. Trainers from ACOMP's (Academic Computing) Web CT training group at the University of South Florida will provide materials for this purpose. In addition the CA will receive training in monitoring discussion groups. The CA will learn cues that signal the discussion topics are "off track." A list of statements that may be used by the assistants to re-direct the discussion will be developed during the pilot testing of Web CT during the summer and fall of 1999.
The following is a proposed list of questions to be used in the directed discussion group. These reflect the topics of discussion following each week of class.