Teaching ICT to Teacher Candidates Using PBL: A Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation

The idea underlying this study is that the prospective teachers develop their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills throughout the learning process supported by the Problem Based Learning (PBL), a method that produces independent learners who can, then, continue to learn on their own in their chosen careers. The major goal of the study, conducted in two phases during two academic years, is to investigate the differential effects of PBL and conventional teacher-centred instruction on cognitive and a group of affective variables which have been coined “technophobia”. Phase I of the study, entirely qualitative in character, covered a case study in which a total of 111 students from three departments of the Faculty of Education took part. Phase II of the study was quasi-experimental in nature with 79 students taking part. Most of the outcomes from Phase II were based on statistical measurements. At the end of the instruction process, the findings indicated that, while there was no significant difference in the anxiety levels of the two groups, the number of successful students had registered a considerable increase. Furthermore, the students, actively involved in the learning process, solving real problems, viewed the PBL as an effective learning tool rich in motivation. Within this framework, the motivating role of ICT as a method of learning is automatically recognised.

[1]  P. Tynjälä.  Towards expert knowledge? A comparison between a constructivist and a traditional learning environment in the university , 1999 .

[2]  E. Graaff,et al.  Characteristics of Problem-Based Learning * , 2022 .

[3]  Tony Harland,et al.  Zoology Students' Experiences of Collaborative Enquiry in Problem-based Learning , 2002 .

[4]  Wl L. Tse,et al.  Application of Problem-Based Learning in an Engineering Course* , 2003 .

[5]  Kian-Sam Hong,et al.  Students' attitudes toward the use of the Internet for learning: A study at a university in Malaysia , 2003, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[6]  B. Bloom.  Taxonomy of educational objectives , 1956 .

[7]  Moti Frank,et al.  Respecting the human needs of students in the development of e-learning , 2003, Comput. Educ..

[8]  Walter L. Saunders.  The Constructivist Perspective: Implications and Teaching Strategies for Science , 1992 .

[9]  M. Fullan.  The New Meaning of Educational Change , 1990 .

[10]  Thomas M. Duffy,et al.  Problem Based Learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework , 1995 .

[11]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Computers as Mindtools for Schools: Engaging Critical Thinking , 1999 .

[12]  Min Liu,et al.  Examining the performance and attitudes of sixth graders during their use of a problem-based hypermedia learning environment , 2004, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[13]  Peter Albion.  PBL + IMM = PBL2: Problem Based Learning and Interactive Multimedia Development , 2003 .

[14]  John Milliken,et al.  Teaching and technology in higher education: student perceptions and personal reflections , 2002, Comput. Educ..

[15]  K E Gibson,et al.  A two-year experience teaching computer literacy to first-year medical students using skill-based cohorts. , 2000, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.

[16]  C. V. D. van der Vleuten,et al.  Matching Student Assessment to Problem-based Learning: Lessons from experience in a law faculty , 2000 .

[17]  Madeleine Abrandt Dahlgren,et al.  PBL through the looking glass Comparing applications in computer engineering, psychology and physiotherapy , 2003 .

[18]  Robert A. Bartsch,et al.  Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures , 2003, Comput. Educ..

[19]  A. Jones,et al.  Small-group work and assessment in a PBL curriculum: a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of student perceptions of the process of working in small groups and its assessment , 2002, Medical teacher.

[20]  Anette Kolmos,et al.  Characteristics of Problem-Based Learning , 2003 .

[21]  Joanna C. Dunlap,et al.  Rich environments for active learning in action: problem-based learning , 1997 .

[22]  Larry D. Rosen,et al.  The psychological impact of technology from a global perspective , 1995 .

[23]  John R. Mergendoller,et al.  Problem-Based Learning: Modifying the Medical School Model for Teaching High School Economics , 2001 .

[24]  Kee-Sook Lim,et al.  Impacts of Personal Characteristics on Computer Attitude and Academic Users Information System Satisfaction , 2002 .

[25]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Learning to Solve Problems with Technology: A Constructivist Perspective , 2002 .