Computer literacy in secondary education: The performance and engagement of girls

This research study examines performance and engagement in computer literacy of boys and girls (N = 873). Performance and engagement in computer literacy are established with CAST. Computer Alfabetisme Schalen Twente, a Dutch version of the Minnesota Computer Literacy Awareness Assessment. The results of the study show that girls perform lower and are less engaged in computer literacy than boys. Research on sex differences in mathematics and science education shows that three factors are important for the design of action programs for girls, viz. the expectation and behaviour of significant others, the perception of the usefulness of the subject for a future career and a positive attitude towards the subject. This study shows that these factors seem to be relevant for computer literacy too. It has been found that a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics is positively related to a positive attitude towards computer literacy. An examination of the relation between performance in computer literacy and attitude towards mathematics and physics shows no differences in performance between boys and girls with a negative attitude towards mathematics and physics. For boys and girls with a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics however a difference in performance in computer literacy has been found in favour of boy

Courseware evaluation by teachers: An implementation perspective

This study has investigated teachers' criteria for the use of courseware packages in the classroom. The starting point of the study was the assumption that it is the teacher who decides whether or not courseware will be used in the classroom. The integration of courseware into the curriculum is conceived as a complex innovation. The study is oriented towards the process of decision making by teachers. A positive decision to actual use of courseware is one of the first steps towards integration of courseware into the curriculum. Three determinants of quality and practicality of an innovation, viz. instrumentality, congruence and cost, formed the theoretical framework of the study. From the study it can be concluded that at the very first stage of the process leading to the integration of courseware into the curriculum, courseware should motivate students, realize educational objectives better than traditional methods and its content should be an operationalization of teacher's ideas and beliefs

Determining Teachers’ TPACK through observations and self-report data

This study reports an arrangement directed at the development of 12 pre-service teachers’ TPACK, by guiding them in developing, practicing and teaching lessons that integrate technology for the first time. Interview, observation, and survey data were collected throughout the study. Results from the study confirmed the contention of Koehler and Mishra (2008) that teachers’ TPACK can be expressed in different ways for different students and in different contextual conditions. Analysis of lesson plan documents showed a well presented theoretical development of the teachers’ TPACK. This seemed to have aligned with their self-reported beliefs which reported slightly higher competencies of TPACK. Observation data however, indicated that teachers had acquired technology integration skills but demonstrated relatively low competencies in blending the components of TPACK. The study leaves no doubts that these teachers’ stated pedagogical beliefs did not align with their instructional practice

Using ICT to Foster (Pre) Reading and Writing Skills in Young Children

This study examines how technology can support the development of emergent reading and writing skills in four- to five-year-old children. The research was conducted with PictoPal, an intervention which features a software package that uses images and text in three main activity areas: reading, writing, and authentic applications. This article reports on the effects of the PictoPal intervention on pupil literacy and communication skills. Two small-scale studies were conducted. Observation results from the first study showed that children are able to work independently with the program after a few instruction sessions. The second study showed a statistically significant learning effect of experimental versus control group scores after two months of using PictoPal in the classroom under the guidance of a parent volunteer. Further research is needed to arrive at a better understanding of these learning gains with a larger group of pupils

Pre-service mathematics teachers' learning and teaching of activity-based lessons supported with spreadsheets

Mathematics education research has shown that too few students have adequate mathematics comprehension or problem-solving skills. To make up for this lapse in student outcomes, mathematics teachers should be among the most enthusiastic in seeking to maximize technologies’ potential to develop student understanding, stimulate student interest, and increase student mathematics proficiency. In this study, pre-service mathematics teachers worked in teams to develop their knowledge and skills in designing activity-based lessons supported by spreadsheets. The pre-service teachers developed and demonstrated their knowledge and skill adequately during the design and enactment of their lessons. The results also showed that, the activity-based lessons supported by spreadsheets served a useful pedagogical approach, impacted on student learning outcomes and has the potential of improving teaching and learning mathematics in secondary educatio

ICT use in the teaching of mathematics: implications for professional development of pre-service teachers in Ghana

Included in the contemporary mathematics curricula in Ghana is the expectation that mathematics teachers will integrate technology in their teaching. However, importance has not been placed on preparing teachers to use ICT in their instruction. This paper reports on a study conducted to explore the feasibility of ICT use in mathematics teaching at senior high school levels in Ghana. Interviews and survey data were used for data collection. Preliminary results showed that mathematics teachers in Ghana do not integrate ICT in their mathematics instruction. Among the major perceived barriers identified were: Lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT in lesson and Lack of training opportunities for ICT integration knowledge acquisition. To overcome some of these barriers, opportunities of a professional development arrangement for pre-service mathematics teachers were explored. Findings from the study revealed specific features of a professional development scenario that matters for ICT integration in mathematics teaching in the context of Ghana

Satisfying pedagogical practices using ICT

This chapter describes the results of the international option that was included in SITES 2006. The international option, which was part of the teacher questionnaire, solicited responses from teachers on satisfying experiences in their pedagogical use of ICT. Twenty-one of the participating education systems took part in this option, the purpose of which was to follow up on earlier research into innovative pedagogical practices employing substantial use of ICT that was carried out as part of SITES Module 1 and SITES Module 2 (SITES-MI and SITES-M2).\ud \ud In this optional component, teachers who used ICT extensively were asked to provide a brief description of the one pedagogical practice involving ICT-use in the target class that they had found the most satisfying. With the description of this practice in mind, teachers were then asked to answer questions reflecting the contribution of ICT to changes in student outcomes and to changes in teaching practices. They were also asked if students or teachers were the main people to initiate several aspects of teaching and learning. The international option aimed to help answer the following research question for SITES 2006: What ICT was used and how was it used in specific situations where ICT has been used relatively extensively within the pedagogical practice