Exploring undergraduates' perspectives and flipped learning readiness in their flipped classrooms

This study surveyed 84 undergraduate students, majoring in education, in order to gather their perspectives regarding flipped classrooms and investigate their readiness levels for flipped learning. After the implementation of flipped learning for an entire semester, surveys were distributed in two flipped classrooms that were taught by the same instructor. Students showed particular preferences for the “Bring Your Own Device” and the Instant Response System features of the flipped classroom. Approximately 60% agreed with the idea of flipped classrooms, but only 39% agreed that the flipped classrooms met their learning needs. Their readiness levels for flipped learning were moderately above the average levels, and males or juniors (compared with freshmen), felt more prepared for flipped learning. In general, course grades, self-directed learning readiness, and group work preference can predict the different readiness dimensions. The findings may enhance educators' understanding in how to apply the flipped learning model in ways that are most beneficial for their own students.     

Teaching in flipped classrooms: Exploring pre-service teachers' concerns

To effectively promote the student-centered movement, it is important to understand pre-service teacher concerns about teaching in technology-integrated flipped classrooms. This study surveyed more than 470 pre-service teachers' concerns on teaching with flipped learning instruction. To understand the role of individual differences, personal characteristics such as self-efficacy for teaching, teacher knowledge, and other demographics were investigated. The results indicated the pre-service teachers had mostly self-concerns. Self-efficacy and non-technological teacher knowledge were associated with most stages of concern. Females had more awareness and management concerns; non-science pre-service teachers had more information, personal, and collaboration concerns; seniors had the highest awareness for flipped classrooms, and the effects of other personal characteristics on stages of concern were identified. The significant findings draw implications for teacher educators and teacher education programs in updating curriculum and instruction so as to equip pre-service teachers with the essential knowledge and skills for teaching effectively in 21st century classrooms.     

Applying a multimedia storytelling website in foreign language learning

Storytelling is a practical and powerful teaching tool, especially for language learning. Teachers in language classrooms, however, may hesitate to incorporate storytelling into language instruction because of an already overloaded curriculum. English foreign language (EFL) teachers in Taiwan report additional problems such as having little prior experience with integrating storytelling into language teaching, locating appropriate stories, and lacking the cultural and language abilities to handle storytelling in English. On the other hand, researchers have demonstrated successful usages of computer and network-assisted English learning. The researchers in this study have developed a multimedia Storytelling Website to study how web-based technology can assist overcoming the obstacles mentioned above. The website contains an accounts administration module, multimedia story composing module, and story re-playing module. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this Website in significantly facilitating teacher’s storytelling and children’s story recall processes in EFL classrooms, it was implemented in one elementary school to test its effectiveness in instruction and in resultant student learning. The results of the study support the significance and the education value of the multimedia Storytelling Website on EFL teaching and learning. If such a Website can be applied within elementary EFL classrooms, the quality of teaching and learning can be improved and students’ enjoyment and success in EFL learning may increase.     

Designing a technology‐enhanced flipped learning system to facilitate students' self‐regulation and performance

In recent years, the flipped classroom has become prevalent in many educational settings. Flipped classroom adopts a pedagogical model in which short video lectures are viewed by students at home before class so that the teacher can lead students to participate in activities, problem‐solving, and discussions. Yet the design or use of technology that employs planned instructional strategies with sustainable support of self‐regulation is scant. We propose a technology‐enhanced flipped language learning system (Flip2Learn) that provides facilitation and guidance for learning performance and self‐regulation. A quasi‐experimental study was carried out to examine whether Flip2Learn could enhance college students' self‐regulatory skills and later contribute to the learning performance in the flipped classrooms. The results showed that Flip2Learn not only better prepared students for flipped classrooms but also better promoted learning performance compared to the conventional flipped classrooms. The results of this research advanced our understanding of the dynamics of flipped classrooms and represented a revolutionary new approach to the technology‐enhanced learning for flipped classrooms.     

Factors influencing students' beliefs about the future in the context of tablet-based interactive classrooms

With the distribution of easy-to-use tablet computers, tablet-based interactive classrooms have become popular environments for innovative learning activities in recent years. However, little research has investigated the relationship between technologically enhanced learning environments and students' beliefs about the future and self-efficacy for learning. In this study, young students' perceptions of tablet-based interactive classrooms, beliefs about the future, and self-efficacy for learning in rural areas of Korea were examined after the students engaged in tablet-based interactive classrooms. To develop the theoretical framework, we created a structural research model of ease of use, usefulness, satisfaction, deepened experiences through tablet use, beliefs about the future, and self-efficacy in tablet-based interactive classrooms based on a partial least squares (PLS) method. The results indicate that (1) students in tablet-based interactive classrooms perceive frequent experiences with tablet-based instructions as easy and useful and (2) student satisfaction is significantly influenced by their perceptions of deeper learning experiences through tablet use, which are significantly influenced by their future expectations and self-efficacy for learning. This study provides relevant implications for educators who design learning activities for students in rural schools in tablet-based interactive classroom environments.     

Pre-service teachers' self-efficacy perceptions on Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge

21st century classrooms call for teachers to integrate technology into their instructional practices. This requires the ability and willingness to combine technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. The main purpose of this study is to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers' perceptions of their self-efficacy regarding Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (W-PCK) and attitudes towards web-based instruction. Turkish adapted version of W-PCK scale (Horzum, 2011) originally developed by Lee and Tsai (2010) was used as the data collection instrument. The survey was administered to 120 EFL pre-service teachers studying at a Turkish state university. The results showed that pre-service EFL teachers attained high scores on the Web-general knowledge and Web Pedagogical Knowledge subscales while lower scores were measured in Web Communicative and Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge sub-scales. The participants' level of general self-efficacy regarding W-PCK was positively correlated with their attitudes towards Web-based instruction. No significant gender or year level differences were observed.     

Designing effective professional development for technology integration in schools

This study aims to explore the critical factors for effective professional development (PD) activities to support teachers' technology integration and suggests a design model: flipped PD. The following questions are investigated: What are the core features of effective teacher PD, what are the implications of core features in effective technology integration PD, and what are the best practices for designing a flipped PD model for preparing teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms? First, we discuss the core features of effective teacher PD: content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, collective participation, and the role of context. Second, we explore design factors in recent technology integration PD studies: learner centred, relevance and reflection, evidence of student learning, support and follow-up, student voice, and initial implementation with teacher leaders. Finally, we present a discussion of our recommendations for a flipped model for technology integration PD.     

An investigation of teachers’ beliefs and their use of technology-based assessments

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ beliefs about technology-based assessments (TBAs) and investigate the possible interplay between their beliefs and their usage of TBAs in classrooms. Forty technology-experienced science teachers participated in the study. Their beliefs about and use of TBAs were examined using semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed based on a coding scheme adapted from the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB) model (Taylor & Todd, 1995). The analysis showed that ten components were substantial in the behavioral, control, and normative beliefs. While 85% teachers (34 out of 40) perceived TBAs as useful tools and identified a variety of usefulness, nearly 40% of the participants indicated the difficulties in using TBAs and their beliefs of ease of use were mainly negative. Also, teachers’ control beliefs about TBA focused on the social and external components such as time, supporting personnel, and infrastructure rather than the personal factors. In their normative beliefs, teachers tended to view school policies and parents’ opinions as constraints, whereas they also realized the benefits of using TBAs for learning. Furthermore, three groups of teachers were identified and characterized based on their usage of TBAs. Although some frequent users did not teach in resource-rich schools and faced constraints similar to those encountered by the occasional users, they seemed to actively look for more supports and solutions to overcome the lack of resources and the disapproval from the school administration. The findings extend the DTPB model of technology users by adding important beliefs about teaching and learning.     

Motivational beliefs and perceptions of instructional quality: predicting satisfaction with online training*

Abstract Many would agree that learning on the Web – a highly autonomous learning environment – may be difficult for individuals who lack motivation and self‐regulated learning skills. Using a social cognitive view of academic motivation and self‐regulation, the objective of the present study was to investigate the relations between students' motivational beliefs, their perceptions of the learning environment and their satisfaction with a self‐paced, online course. Service academy undergraduates (n = 646) completed a questionnaire following online training. Pearson correlations indicate that task value, self‐efficacy and perceived instructional quality were significantly positively related to each other and to students' overall satisfaction with the self‐paced, online course. Additionally, results from a three‐step hierarchical regression reveal that task value, self‐efficacy and instructional quality were significant positive predictors of students' satisfaction; the final regression model accounted for approximately 54% of the variance in the outcome measure. These findings support and extend prior research in traditional classrooms and online education in university settings, indicating that military students' motivational beliefs about a learning task and their perceptions of instructional quality are related, in important ways, to their overall satisfaction with online instruction. Educational implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Exploring the use of educational technology in primary education: Teachers' perception of mobile technology learning impacts and applications' use in the classroom

Mobile technology has become popular worldwide with a broad range of users, including students from all levels of education. Although the impact of mobile technology in classrooms has been extensively studied, less is known about teachers' perceptions of how mobile technology impacts in learning and its relation to Applications (Apps) use in the classroom. This state of affairs is problematic since we know that teachers' perceptions have a great influence on their teaching practices. This study used survey data gathered from 102 teachers of 12 different primary schools in Spain. The questionnaire collected data about teachers' individual information, teachers' perceptions on the impact of mobile technology in learning, and use of a set of selected Apps in the classroom. Findings suggest that facilitating access to information and increasing engagement to learning are the two main impacts of mobile technology in the classroom. Findings also show that the choice of Apps is related to the teachers' perception of how mobile technology impacts in learning. Findings could help teachers to take advantage of the combination of affordances of mobile technology and Apps that actually improve some aspects of learning practice.     

Exploring pre-service teachers' beliefs about using Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 classroom

This qualitative study explored pre-service teachers' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs regarding their intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies in their future classrooms. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as the theoretical framework (Ajzen, 1991) to understand these beliefs and pre-service teachers' intentions for why they want to use Web 2.0 technologies. According to Ajzen's TPB, the behavioral beliefs are based on attitude toward outcomes or consequences of using Web 2.0, the normative beliefs depend on social support and social pressure to use Web 2.0, and the control beliefs lay the foundation of perceived behavioral control over using Web 2.0 in a classroom. Data were collected from open-ended survey questions (n = 190), semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and end of semester reflections (n = 12). Findings suggest that pre-service teachers' intentions to use Web 2.0 technologies are related to their beliefs about the value of these technologies for improving student learning and engagement, its ease of use (behavioral beliefs), its ability to meet the needs/expectations of digital age students (normative beliefs), the participants' high self-efficacy in use, and its potential for affording students anytime/anywhere access to learning and interaction (control beliefs). From these results, we recommend that teacher educators should target these beliefs within teacher development programs to prepare pre-service teachers for successful use of Web 2.0 technologies in their future K-12 classrooms.     

Korean science teachers’ perceptions of the introduction of socio‐scientific issues into the science curriculum

Abstract:

This study examined Korean secondary science teachers’ perceptions of the introduction of socio‐scientific issues (SSI) into the science curriculum. The guiding research questions were (a) What are teachers’ perceptions of SSI and the place of these issues in the science curriculum? and (b) What are some factors that impede or facilitate addressing SSI in Korean secondary classrooms? The factors that were explored included teachers’ perceptions of the necessity of addressing SSI, teachers’ personal science‐teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs regarding SSI, and other relevant situational factors. The 86 participants (65% female) completed a questionnaire comprising Likert‐type and open‐ended questions. Next, follow‐up, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a random sample of 12 participants. Results indicated that participants perceived a need to address SSI positively. However, only a minority dealt with such issues in their classrooms and then only sporadically. Participants had low PSTE beliefs related to teaching about SSI. They perceived the lack of instructional time and the unavailability of relevant materials as the primary obstacles that hindered the teaching of SSI. It is argued that the culture of pre‐college science education in Korea, which is still largely dominated by a preoccupation with preparing students for admission to institutions of higher education, subsumes those obstacles identified and experienced by the participant teachers.     

Relationships Between Prospective Middle Grades Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs and TPACK

As technology become more ubiquitous in the classroom, teachers need to overcome two types of barriers to use it effectively: access to resources (including the development of knowledge) and the development of appropriate beliefs. To assist teachers in overcoming these barriers, we must understand the relationships that exist among them. We examined relationships between middle grade prospective teachers' beliefs and their technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge framework (TPACK). We found possible relationships between their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, learning and teaching mathematics, and the use of technology and their content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and technological pedagogical content knowledge, respectively.     

Adoption and use of technology in early education: The interplay of extrinsic barriers and teacher attitudes

The increased access to, but continued under-use of, technology in education makes it imperative to understand the barriers teachers face when integrating technology into their classrooms. While prior research suggests teachers encounter both first-order extrinsic barriers and second-order personal barriers, much of this research has focused on K-12 teachers, not early childhood educators. Applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to early childhood education, the current study examines predictors of early childhood educators' access to and use of traditional technologies and newer mobile devices. Findings from 1329 teachers of 0–4-year-olds reveal that while extrinsic barriers influence access to a range of technologies, positive beliefs in children's learning from technology significantly predicted actual use of technology. Overall, the study provides new insight into factors influencing technology integration specifically for early childhood educators, a subgroup that has not been represented in much of the literature on technology integration in formal education.     

Epistemology and learning: Impact on pedagogical practices and technology use in Singapore schools

This paper reports on two studies conducted in 2006 in the Singapore schools to investigate the relationships between teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and learning, their pedagogical practices, and uses of information and communications technologies (ICT). Three primary research questions were examined in this research: First, do teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and learning influence the uses of ICT, pedagogical approaches, and types of assessments used in the Singapore schools? Second, does the school culture influence the uses of pedagogical approaches and ICT by Singapore teachers in their classes? Third, are the epistemic ideas about the nature of knowledge and learning beliefs that are stable cognitive structures or are they resources that are more adaptively shaped to different contexts? In Study 1, 1882 teachers from 51 schools took part in the 187-item online survey on these areas, and Study 2 involved eight principals, two vice-principals, 33 heads of department, and 60 teachers in structured interviews. It had been hypothesized that beliefs about the nature of knowledge being complex and changing would be associated with more learner-centered pedagogical practices and uses of technology in the classrooms. However, the main findings of Study 1 suggest that it is not epistemological beliefs of teachers about knowledge and knowing that shape pedagogical practices in Singapore schools, but rather teachers’ beliefs about learning. From the interviews in Study 2, it appears that teachers tend to mix pedagogical strategies consisting of both teacher-directed and learner-centered approaches primarily based on beliefs about learning. Our research findings also suggest that epistemic ideas teachers have may not be relatively fixed and stable “beliefs” but rather are more contextually influenced epistemic resources. The paper concludes with a discussion of these findings and their implications for theory, practice, and future research.     

Computers in Russian schools: current conditions,main problems,and prospects for the future

This paper illustrates the current conditions of Russian schools and describes the major problems of Russian education. It also examines the past and present technological resources used in Russian classrooms, the variety and availability of hardware and software, and the prospects for Russia's future computerization. The information provided has been compiled from research, media, personal observation, surveys, and interacting with teachers, school administrators, students and other individuals.     

Personalising learning: Exploring student and teacher perceptions about flexible learning and assessment in a flipped university course

Flexible teaching and learning and the ‘flipped classroom’ are current buzzwords in higher education in Australia and elsewhere in the world. They are reflections of the progressive change in higher education over the last few decades towards more student-and learning centred pedagogies and practices, which are made possible through new technologies and more delivery of online and blended (combination of face-to-face and online components) courses. The increasing personalising and flexibility of learning in higher education requires equal attention spent to assessment practices to ensure a cohesive learning experience. This paper provides the findings and conclusions of a study about a flipped classroom, which also included flexible assessment components. The study showed that students enjoy and are more engaged in a flipped classroom, prefer a blended learning to a fully online learning approach, want and require clear structure and guidelines, and strongly value flexible assessment through more choices and control. The main concern of higher education teachers is the time commitment and lack of institutional support for flipping classrooms and providing flexible assessment. It is argued that personalising learning requires more personalising of assessment, and that it is mainly the responsibility of teachers and institutions to develop ‘flexible students’.     

Teacher perception for m‐learning: scale development and teachers' perceptions

Successful integration of mobile learning (m‐learning) technologies in education primarily demands that teachers' perception of such technologies should be determined. Therefore, the perceptions of teachers are of great significance. There is no available instrument that assesses teachers' perceptions of m‐learning. Our research provided the first findings about teacher perceptions in Cyprus. This article describes the development, testing and application for a suitable instrument. Research data for the tests of reliability and validity were obtained from a sample of 467 teachers from the 32 schools surveyed in 2010. The final version of the Mobile Learning Perception Scale includes dimensions seeking teachers' feedback on three facets of the m‐learning. Sub‐dimensions are defined as ‘Aim‐Mobile Technologies Fit', ‘Appropriateness of Branch’, and ‘Forms of M‐learning Application and Tools’ Sufficient Adequacy of Communication'. Validity has been established by the use of factor analysis. Internal consistency coefficient and reliability of the scale showed that this instrument can be used for the future studies. According to the results of this study, teachers exhibited above medium levels of perception towards m‐learning.     

An investigation of mobile learning readiness in higher education based on the theory of planned behavior

This study investigated the current state of college students' perceptions toward mobile learning in higher education. Mobile learning is a new form of learning utilizing the unique capabilities of mobile devices. Although mobile devices are ubiquitous on college campuses, student readiness for mobile learning has yet to be fully explored in the United States. The paper describes a conceptual model, based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which explains how college students' beliefs influence their intention to adopt mobile devices in their coursework. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze self-report data from 177 college students. The findings showed that the TPB explained college students' acceptance of m-learning reasonably well. More specifically, attitude, subjective norm, and behavioral control positively influenced their intention to adopt mobile learning. The results provide valuable implications for ways to increase college students' acceptance of mobile learning.     

Boys’ and girls’ ICT beliefs: Do teachers matter?

This exploratory study took place in the context of middle school information science in Greece, to examine possible relations between boys’ and girls’: value and efficacy beliefs about computers and information science; perceived parental support; perceived teacher expectations; and perceptions of the nature of information science instruction. The participants of the study were 301 (135 male and 166 female) students who responded to a self-report questionnaire. Regression analysis showed that perceived teacher expectations were positively associated with students’ ability beliefs, perceptions of learning activities as creative and personally meaningful was a significant predictor of students’ interest in computing, and perceived parental support was related to both value and efficacy beliefs. Unlike previous research, the findings of this study did not support the conclusion that boys have more positive ICT self-efficacy and value beliefs than girls. They indicated however, that boys’ and girls’ beliefs are differentially affected by parents, teachers, and school IS instruction.