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Do universities educate towards a change in teacher attitudes? The case of computer related attitudes
289
Do universities educate towards a change in teacher attitudes? The case of computer related attitudes Baruch Offir, Yaacov J. Katz and Miriam Schmida School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
Abstract. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether teacher trainees in the third year of their university studies are more open to innovation and change in instructional methods, such as Computer Assisted Instruction (cxr) and Computer Assisted Learning (cAL), than their first year counterparts. The students all participated in courses on teaching innovation, with special emphasis on the lise of information technology. First year students participated in an introductory course and third year students took two advanced courses. Results of the study indicate that no significant improvement in students' attitudes to the lise of computers-the vehicle for innovation and change-was achieved, despite the participa tion of third year students in courses designed to promote change. It may be concluded that teacher training institutions need to implement modifications in their coursework in order to promote positive attitudes toward innovation and significant change in the instructional process.
Keywords: Computer Assisted Instruction (CAn, Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), innovation, change, instructional process
Baruch Offlr is a senior lecturer at the School of Education, Bar-Han University, Israel. He was the founder and head of manpower training by computer in the Israel Defence Force. He has written a n umber of articles dealing wtih different factors of computer use, including the influence of attitudes of teachers and students on effective computer usage. He has also developed theoretical models dealing with decision making in computer use. In addition, he has developed a number of software packages.
Introduction Modern society is rapidly becoming both information rich and information dependent [1-3]. This proliferation of information necessitates systematic approaches to teaching and training in order for teachers to keep abreast of society's needs [4]. Thus the challenges facing schools in the modern age are in the realm of teaching development, so as to facilitate more effective learning of increasingly more sophisticated material by students who utilize innovative teaching to hone their basic learning skills [5]. Each individual student needs a unique set of circumstances in order to learn competently [6]. The fulfillment of student potential is one of the better goals that can be achieved to assist schools to cope with society's demands [7]. It is now commonly accepted that information technology should playa central role in children's education [3]. The computer has the potential of increasing the effectiveness of the instructional process. The computer is able to supply both individualized and controlled instruction, is capable of gathering and storing a wealth of inform aYaacov J. Katz is the Director, Division of Counselling at the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His main interests lie in social processes related to education. He has conducted numerous research projects in which he has investigated teachers' and students' social, political and religious attitudes in relation to their cognitive processes. He is particularly interested in the relationship between information technology and attitudes of teachers and students which promote or mitigate against effective computer usage, and has published a number of papers on this topic.
Education & Computing 7 (1991) 289-292 Elsevier 0167-9287/91/$03.50 © 1991 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved
Mirjam Schmida is the Head of the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Among other areas of academic interest, she works in the field of teacher training, especially from the philosophical and pyschological points of view, which include educational aims and learning patterns of culturally disadvantaged students. She is also interested in the contribution of IT to teacher training. She has written a number of books and articles on the above topics.
290
B. Offir et al. / Computer related altitudes
tion, can rapidly execute complex instructional tasks, and present students with accurate evaluations and other outputs. Although many schools have acquired computers and use them in the instructional process, it is not yet clear whether a majority of teachers are able to effectively use computers for Computer Assisted Instruction (CAl). The computer demands skills quite different from those used by teachers in traditional instructional methods. The successful infiltration of computers into the classroom depends to a large extent on teachers' attitudes towards innovation and change [7]. According to Robinson [3], a vital prerequisite for the realization of student potential in the classroom is the ability of teachers to accept new technologies, such as computers, which contribute to the instructional process. Past studies have testified to a general under-utilization of audiovisual aids in the modern classroom because of teachers' hesitancy to adopt innovative instructional instruments [7-9]. Moss [10] stressed that teachers need positive encouragement and coaching before they will accept the importance of innovation and change in using modern audiovisual instructional aids to improve the teaching process. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between teacher training and teacher attitudes toward change and innovation in the instructional process. The main research question dealt with the change in teacher attitudes towards the use of computers in CAl after undergoing a training course designed to impress upon them the importance of computer utilization, in order to realize student potential more efficiently.
Method
Sample
The research sample consisted of 202 students undergoing a three year teacher training course at the Bar-Han University. 110 students were in the first year of their course and 92 students were in the third year of their studies. Apparatus
A questionnaire specially compiled to examine teacher attitudes towards the use of computers in CAl was administered to the subjects. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items, divided into two significant factors, each containing 10 items. The factors, labelled computer teaching and computer learning, both had latent roots greater than unity and explained at least 10% of the variance (following Child [11]). The subjects were asked to respond to each item on a scale ranging from 1 (low level attitude) to 5 (high-level attitude). The final score on each of the factors was based on a summation of the responses of the subjects to the 10 items loading on each factor. The overall Alpha reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was .81, which is considered satisfactory.
Procedure The first year students were graduates of a 15 week (semester) course in teaching innovation which emphasized the importance of innovation and change in the instructional process. During the course, a variety of instructional innovations, including computers, were presented to the stu-
Table 1 T-test results of first year and third year teacher trainee scores on the computer teaching and computer learning factors Group
Variable
1st Year 3rd Year
Computer teaching
1st Year 3rd Year
Computer learning
N
M
S.D.
T
P
110
22.67 21.65
3.76 4.58
1.71
> 0.05
19.27
3.75 4.55
0.66
> 0.05
92 110 92
18.88
B. Offir et al. / Computer related attitudes
dents as effective alternatives to traditional instructional methods. The third year students were graduates of two additional (advanced) 15 week courses in instructional innovation, which included CAl and CAL as central educational instruments designed positively to assist the teacher in achieving success in the instructional situation. All subjects fully completed their respective courses before responding to the research questionnaire.
Results and discussion A statistical analysis of the data indicates that there are no significant differences between first year and third year students on either the computer teaching or the computer learning factors (see Table 1). It should be noted that on both factors-computer teaching and computer learning-the first year students achieved higher mean scores than the third year students. Although Katz and Offir [12] found that teachers believed that computer utilization in the classroom is a definite innovation that can well lead to positive results, it appears that the will to introduce computers into the classroom is only as strong as the ability of the teachers to accornodate innovation and change. Any educational development and innovation at the classroom and instructional level must be considered in light of the motivation of the teachers themselves to effect the suggested changes. The examination and understanding of teachers' personality and attitudinal traits are a prerequisite to the initiation of any type of reform in teaching and instructional methods [7]. Computers are a fairly new instructional aid and only those teachers who feel comfortable with innovation will react favourably to CAl and CAL [13]. Thus teachers' attitudes toward CAl and CAL may serve as a gauge of their willingness to accept innovation and change in the instructional process. The results of this study indicate that despite attempts expended in the university teacher training program to impress upon the students the importance of innovation and change in order to improve instructional and learning processes, no significant increments were evident as students progressed from first year to third year. Thus it appears that training for change through the
291
medium of coursework does not achieve its objectives. Previous findings [14] suggested that teacher training courses may even discourage the will to innovate and introduce changes. However, mention should be made of the fact that the scores of both first year and third year students were higher on the computer teaching factor than on the computer learning variable. This might indicate that, although teachers may not adopt innovation and change in the classroom, they are more positive towards computer usage as a teaching aid than as a learning tool. Teacher training institutions should take cognizance of the fact that courses designed to promote instructional innovation and change do not fulfill this goal. Modifications must be introduced into these courses in order to increase their effectiveness, so that teachers and students alike will have the full benefit of information technology which can, as Hoyle [15] noted, bring about a revolution in the educational process.
References [1) D.J. Dinkmeyer and J. Carlson, Counselor computer competencies, Elementary School Guidance and Counselling 18 (1) (1983) 5-12. [2] D. Jacques and G. Gibbs, Teaching innovation works, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology 25 (2) (1988) 118-121. [3] B. Robinson, Computer assisted learning: automatons or thinking individuals. In: W. Tulasiewicz and A. Adams, eds. Teachers' Expectations and Teaching Reality (Routledge, London, 1989) 232-244. [4J B. Offir, Application of psychological theory in computer based instruction, Educational Technology 27 (4) (1987) 47-49. [5J G. Badley, Meeting the challenge of staff development, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology 25 (2) (1988) 93-100. [6] L. Eiser, Regular software for special education kids? Classroom Computer Learning 7 (2) (1986) 26. B. Offir and YJ. Katz, Learning-curve as a model for analysing the cost-effectiveness of a training system, Education and Computing 6 (1990) 161-164. [8] Acquino, Teacher attitudes towards audiovisual instruction as they are influenced by selected factors within teaching environments, AV Communication Review 18 (2) (1970) 187-195. [9] Acquino, Teacher attitude to media teaching environments, British Journal of Educational Technology 5 (1) (1974) 72-79. [10] G.D. Moss, The influence of an in-service course in educational technology on the attitudes of teachers,
m
c.c. c.c.
292
B. Offir et al. I Computer relatedattitudes
British Journal of Educational Technology IO (]) (1979) 69-8lJ. [II] D. Child, The Essentials of Factor Analysis (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, London, 1973). [12] Y.J. Katz and B. Offir, Computer oriented attitudes as a function of age in an elementary school population. In: F. Lovis and E.D. Tagg, eds. Computers in Education (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1988) 371-373. [13] S.L. Glasman and D. Neva, Evaluation in Decision Making (Kluwer, Boston, 1988). [14] Y. Hubara, Student-teacher training in heterogeneous classes in the junior high school (Unpublished MA thesis, Bar-I1an University, 1986). [15] E. Hoyle, Computers and education: a solution in search of a problem. In: J. Megarry, D.R.F. Walker, S. Nisbet and E. Hoyle, eds. Computers and Education (Kogan Page, London, 1984) 55-65.
Discussion Erling Schmidt: The model that you describe is strongly focused on the use of the computer as a teaching machine rather than on its use as a general purpose tool. Where do spreadsheets, word-processors and databases fit into your model? Baruch Offir: You are correct-we have focused on the use of the computer as a teaching machine. It is true that other uses do not fit the model, but we are concerned with teaching machines. Marilyn Dickison: I don't understand why you are saying that the teacher has a high involvementthis is the implication of the vertical axis label on your graph. It seems that it is the pupils who are heavily involved.
Baruch Offir: You are right. What I mean is human involvement-that can be either pupils or teachers. Luis Peeters; When introducing computers into the classroom to what extent do teachers see the work as additional to rather than as a part of the normal work of the class? Baruch Offir: Teacher acceptance is better and their reaction is more positive when the work fits in closely with the normal programme. Teachers don't like a lot of interference. Harald Haugen: You remarked that teacher trainers do not really do a good job in this area. Do you have any ideas about how we might get colleagues involved in teacher training to make better use of computers? Baruch Offir: I hope to give an answer in a few years time! From our experiences in other areas, such as industry, there appear to be opportunities to change the attitudes of students. We have to be very precise when setting the target. Margaret Niess: In situations where teacher attitudes are less positive, is it because we are asking higher level questions and are therefore making teachers feel insecure? Evaluation tasks are already very difficult and maybe we are just adding to the teachers' insecurity by adding the complexities associated with the use of a computer. Baruch Offir: We found that teachers were happy with the use of computers for evaluation tasks. They were also happy with simulation activities and when using the computer as a teaching machine. It was the change from one type of activity to another that made them unhappy.
Do universities educate towards a change in teacher attitudes? The case of computer related attitudes Baruch Offir, Yaacov J. Katz and Miriam Schmida School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
Abstract. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether teacher trainees in the third year of their university studies are more open to innovation and change in instructional methods, such as Computer Assisted Instruction (cxr) and Computer Assisted Learning (cAL), than their first year counterparts. The students all participated in courses on teaching innovation, with special emphasis on the lise of information technology. First year students participated in an introductory course and third year students took two advanced courses. Results of the study indicate that no significant improvement in students' attitudes to the lise of computers-the vehicle for innovation and change-was achieved, despite the participa tion of third year students in courses designed to promote change. It may be concluded that teacher training institutions need to implement modifications in their coursework in order to promote positive attitudes toward innovation and significant change in the instructional process.
Keywords: Computer Assisted Instruction (CAn, Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), innovation, change, instructional process
Baruch Offlr is a senior lecturer at the School of Education, Bar-Han University, Israel. He was the founder and head of manpower training by computer in the Israel Defence Force. He has written a n umber of articles dealing wtih different factors of computer use, including the influence of attitudes of teachers and students on effective computer usage. He has also developed theoretical models dealing with decision making in computer use. In addition, he has developed a number of software packages.
Introduction Modern society is rapidly becoming both information rich and information dependent [1-3]. This proliferation of information necessitates systematic approaches to teaching and training in order for teachers to keep abreast of society's needs [4]. Thus the challenges facing schools in the modern age are in the realm of teaching development, so as to facilitate more effective learning of increasingly more sophisticated material by students who utilize innovative teaching to hone their basic learning skills [5]. Each individual student needs a unique set of circumstances in order to learn competently [6]. The fulfillment of student potential is one of the better goals that can be achieved to assist schools to cope with society's demands [7]. It is now commonly accepted that information technology should playa central role in children's education [3]. The computer has the potential of increasing the effectiveness of the instructional process. The computer is able to supply both individualized and controlled instruction, is capable of gathering and storing a wealth of inform aYaacov J. Katz is the Director, Division of Counselling at the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His main interests lie in social processes related to education. He has conducted numerous research projects in which he has investigated teachers' and students' social, political and religious attitudes in relation to their cognitive processes. He is particularly interested in the relationship between information technology and attitudes of teachers and students which promote or mitigate against effective computer usage, and has published a number of papers on this topic.
Education & Computing 7 (1991) 289-292 Elsevier 0167-9287/91/$03.50 © 1991 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved
Mirjam Schmida is the Head of the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Among other areas of academic interest, she works in the field of teacher training, especially from the philosophical and pyschological points of view, which include educational aims and learning patterns of culturally disadvantaged students. She is also interested in the contribution of IT to teacher training. She has written a number of books and articles on the above topics.
290
B. Offir et al. / Computer related altitudes
tion, can rapidly execute complex instructional tasks, and present students with accurate evaluations and other outputs. Although many schools have acquired computers and use them in the instructional process, it is not yet clear whether a majority of teachers are able to effectively use computers for Computer Assisted Instruction (CAl). The computer demands skills quite different from those used by teachers in traditional instructional methods. The successful infiltration of computers into the classroom depends to a large extent on teachers' attitudes towards innovation and change [7]. According to Robinson [3], a vital prerequisite for the realization of student potential in the classroom is the ability of teachers to accept new technologies, such as computers, which contribute to the instructional process. Past studies have testified to a general under-utilization of audiovisual aids in the modern classroom because of teachers' hesitancy to adopt innovative instructional instruments [7-9]. Moss [10] stressed that teachers need positive encouragement and coaching before they will accept the importance of innovation and change in using modern audiovisual instructional aids to improve the teaching process. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between teacher training and teacher attitudes toward change and innovation in the instructional process. The main research question dealt with the change in teacher attitudes towards the use of computers in CAl after undergoing a training course designed to impress upon them the importance of computer utilization, in order to realize student potential more efficiently.
Method
Sample
The research sample consisted of 202 students undergoing a three year teacher training course at the Bar-Han University. 110 students were in the first year of their course and 92 students were in the third year of their studies. Apparatus
A questionnaire specially compiled to examine teacher attitudes towards the use of computers in CAl was administered to the subjects. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items, divided into two significant factors, each containing 10 items. The factors, labelled computer teaching and computer learning, both had latent roots greater than unity and explained at least 10% of the variance (following Child [11]). The subjects were asked to respond to each item on a scale ranging from 1 (low level attitude) to 5 (high-level attitude). The final score on each of the factors was based on a summation of the responses of the subjects to the 10 items loading on each factor. The overall Alpha reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was .81, which is considered satisfactory.
Procedure The first year students were graduates of a 15 week (semester) course in teaching innovation which emphasized the importance of innovation and change in the instructional process. During the course, a variety of instructional innovations, including computers, were presented to the stu-
Table 1 T-test results of first year and third year teacher trainee scores on the computer teaching and computer learning factors Group
Variable
1st Year 3rd Year
Computer teaching
1st Year 3rd Year
Computer learning
N
M
S.D.
T
P
110
22.67 21.65
3.76 4.58
1.71
> 0.05
19.27
3.75 4.55
0.66
> 0.05
92 110 92
18.88
B. Offir et al. / Computer related attitudes
dents as effective alternatives to traditional instructional methods. The third year students were graduates of two additional (advanced) 15 week courses in instructional innovation, which included CAl and CAL as central educational instruments designed positively to assist the teacher in achieving success in the instructional situation. All subjects fully completed their respective courses before responding to the research questionnaire.
Results and discussion A statistical analysis of the data indicates that there are no significant differences between first year and third year students on either the computer teaching or the computer learning factors (see Table 1). It should be noted that on both factors-computer teaching and computer learning-the first year students achieved higher mean scores than the third year students. Although Katz and Offir [12] found that teachers believed that computer utilization in the classroom is a definite innovation that can well lead to positive results, it appears that the will to introduce computers into the classroom is only as strong as the ability of the teachers to accornodate innovation and change. Any educational development and innovation at the classroom and instructional level must be considered in light of the motivation of the teachers themselves to effect the suggested changes. The examination and understanding of teachers' personality and attitudinal traits are a prerequisite to the initiation of any type of reform in teaching and instructional methods [7]. Computers are a fairly new instructional aid and only those teachers who feel comfortable with innovation will react favourably to CAl and CAL [13]. Thus teachers' attitudes toward CAl and CAL may serve as a gauge of their willingness to accept innovation and change in the instructional process. The results of this study indicate that despite attempts expended in the university teacher training program to impress upon the students the importance of innovation and change in order to improve instructional and learning processes, no significant increments were evident as students progressed from first year to third year. Thus it appears that training for change through the
291
medium of coursework does not achieve its objectives. Previous findings [14] suggested that teacher training courses may even discourage the will to innovate and introduce changes. However, mention should be made of the fact that the scores of both first year and third year students were higher on the computer teaching factor than on the computer learning variable. This might indicate that, although teachers may not adopt innovation and change in the classroom, they are more positive towards computer usage as a teaching aid than as a learning tool. Teacher training institutions should take cognizance of the fact that courses designed to promote instructional innovation and change do not fulfill this goal. Modifications must be introduced into these courses in order to increase their effectiveness, so that teachers and students alike will have the full benefit of information technology which can, as Hoyle [15] noted, bring about a revolution in the educational process.
References [1) D.J. Dinkmeyer and J. Carlson, Counselor computer competencies, Elementary School Guidance and Counselling 18 (1) (1983) 5-12. [2] D. Jacques and G. Gibbs, Teaching innovation works, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology 25 (2) (1988) 118-121. [3] B. Robinson, Computer assisted learning: automatons or thinking individuals. In: W. Tulasiewicz and A. Adams, eds. Teachers' Expectations and Teaching Reality (Routledge, London, 1989) 232-244. [4J B. Offir, Application of psychological theory in computer based instruction, Educational Technology 27 (4) (1987) 47-49. [5J G. Badley, Meeting the challenge of staff development, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology 25 (2) (1988) 93-100. [6] L. Eiser, Regular software for special education kids? Classroom Computer Learning 7 (2) (1986) 26. B. Offir and YJ. Katz, Learning-curve as a model for analysing the cost-effectiveness of a training system, Education and Computing 6 (1990) 161-164. [8] Acquino, Teacher attitudes towards audiovisual instruction as they are influenced by selected factors within teaching environments, AV Communication Review 18 (2) (1970) 187-195. [9] Acquino, Teacher attitude to media teaching environments, British Journal of Educational Technology 5 (1) (1974) 72-79. [10] G.D. Moss, The influence of an in-service course in educational technology on the attitudes of teachers,
m
c.c. c.c.
292
B. Offir et al. I Computer relatedattitudes
British Journal of Educational Technology IO (]) (1979) 69-8lJ. [II] D. Child, The Essentials of Factor Analysis (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, London, 1973). [12] Y.J. Katz and B. Offir, Computer oriented attitudes as a function of age in an elementary school population. In: F. Lovis and E.D. Tagg, eds. Computers in Education (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1988) 371-373. [13] S.L. Glasman and D. Neva, Evaluation in Decision Making (Kluwer, Boston, 1988). [14] Y. Hubara, Student-teacher training in heterogeneous classes in the junior high school (Unpublished MA thesis, Bar-I1an University, 1986). [15] E. Hoyle, Computers and education: a solution in search of a problem. In: J. Megarry, D.R.F. Walker, S. Nisbet and E. Hoyle, eds. Computers and Education (Kogan Page, London, 1984) 55-65.
Discussion Erling Schmidt: The model that you describe is strongly focused on the use of the computer as a teaching machine rather than on its use as a general purpose tool. Where do spreadsheets, word-processors and databases fit into your model? Baruch Offir: You are correct-we have focused on the use of the computer as a teaching machine. It is true that other uses do not fit the model, but we are concerned with teaching machines. Marilyn Dickison: I don't understand why you are saying that the teacher has a high involvementthis is the implication of the vertical axis label on your graph. It seems that it is the pupils who are heavily involved.
Baruch Offir: You are right. What I mean is human involvement-that can be either pupils or teachers. Luis Peeters; When introducing computers into the classroom to what extent do teachers see the work as additional to rather than as a part of the normal work of the class? Baruch Offir: Teacher acceptance is better and their reaction is more positive when the work fits in closely with the normal programme. Teachers don't like a lot of interference. Harald Haugen: You remarked that teacher trainers do not really do a good job in this area. Do you have any ideas about how we might get colleagues involved in teacher training to make better use of computers? Baruch Offir: I hope to give an answer in a few years time! From our experiences in other areas, such as industry, there appear to be opportunities to change the attitudes of students. We have to be very precise when setting the target. Margaret Niess: In situations where teacher attitudes are less positive, is it because we are asking higher level questions and are therefore making teachers feel insecure? Evaluation tasks are already very difficult and maybe we are just adding to the teachers' insecurity by adding the complexities associated with the use of a computer. Baruch Offir: We found that teachers were happy with the use of computers for evaluation tasks. They were also happy with simulation activities and when using the computer as a teaching machine. It was the change from one type of activity to another that made them unhappy.