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This study investigates how an online course management system can be used as an optional supplement to traditional classroom teaching and learning in order to enhance the educational experience of second level chemistry student in an all girl's school.
Transition Year students participated in the study, which took place over a fifteen week period. The students were of mixed ability and were encouraged and given opportunity to use the range of features and tools provided by the online learning environment.
An action research approach was used as it allowed the teacher-researcher to explore the fundamental question; `how can I improve the process of education here? Data was collected using a personal diary, a usability test, student questionnaires, student interviews, a previously published examination question and student work.
The integration of the course management system, to run parallel to the traditional classroom, enhanced the educational experience of the students and increased the appeal of the subject for them. There were no major usability issues for the students using the system. The system successfully mediated a collaboration between second and third level thereby bringing expertise and new pedagogical approaches into the classroom.
In recent years considerable sums of money have been invested in the IT infrastructure of Irish secondary schools, primarily as an outcome of the Schools IT2000 Initiative and subsequent top-ups to that initiative. Yet, there is still little penetration by cutting edge educational technology into the classrooms and teaching programmes of many secondary teachers in Ireland. There are very understandable reasons for this limited progress. In many schools, access to the computer room for both teachers and students is mainly limited to timetabled computer class periods. The appropriate and necessary hardware (AV projectors, Computers, Internet connectivity) to incorporate ICT into the base classroom is expensive and beyond the reach of most schools. Also, many teachers entered the profession without any IT skills (and are still doing so), and for them the Schools IT2000 courses provided a steep learning curve to be surmounted in their free time. Few schools can afford the time, support, training and recognition for teachers who wish to pursue new methods of instruction or apply new skills. Acquiring new ICT skills and then having little opportunity to use and develop them, is not helpful when it comes to either retaining or applying those skills in the classroom.
Yet, while there is a growing awareness among teachers of the tremendous potential of the Internet as an information and communication resource for the classroom, it too has failed to impact significantly in schools in Ireland. Teachers may be aware that it has great potential to facilitate collaborative learning but they are also aware of the dangers that the Internet can pose to the student.
Teachers need to be wary of encouraging unmonitored free range browsing by referring students to the Internet in search of information and resource materials. It is my belief, that as a consequence of the factors outlined above, most teachers are not availing of the opportunity to exploit the educational opportunities afforded by the Internet in particular and ICT in general. Until they do so, the increased government resource may be ill spent.
Meanwhile other aspects of the secondary school curriculum came under government scrutiny. In October 2000, the Minister for Education and Science set up a Task Force on the Physical Sciences under the chairmanship of Dr. Daniel O' Hare, President Emeritus of Dublin City University. The Task Force sought to examine the decline in the take-up of science in secondary schools over the last decade. This decline has inevitably fed through to third level institutions with a drop in recruitment of students to science, engineering and technology (SET) courses in higher education. Ironically these third level SET courses experience high failures rates in first year, in part attributed to a lack of exposure to the physical sciences at secondary level. The Task Force also found that gender equity is a cause for concern, with only 79.7% of girls at lower secondary taking science compared with 96.2% of boys and only 7.9% of girls tasking physics at upper secondary level compared with 25.4% of boys (Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, 2002). The report suggested making science more widely available would, of its own, be insufficient unless accompanied by strong action aimed at influencing student choice.
The strong emphasis on science in Transition Year can contribute to high take-up at Leaving Certificate and it is also an opportunity to provide students with a balanced exposure to the sciences. Furthermore, to effect real change in the classroom, curriculum reform along with more flexible and creative approaches to teaching and learning must become a constant feature of the Irish education system. New technologies can provide a positive pressure for change when applied to teaching and learning. These beliefs coupled with the recent developments in the Irish education system as outlined above form both the backdrop to, and rationale behind, this particular piece of educational research. The focus of this study is to explore the use of a commercially available Internet course management system, namely Blackboard Courseinfo, as a supplement to traditional classroom teaching and learning within an Irish second level context. My choice of topic for research arises from a belief that the use of such a course management system could prove helpful in bringing cutting edge ICT into the secondary school system and perhaps addressing some of the problems outlined above. After all, course management systems do not require the instructor to have extensive ICT skills and are available "24/7" for both instructor and student thereby relieving pressures on limited timetabled resources. Similarly, they can also be used to curtail the unstructured Internet activities of young students thereby reducing the risk of an inappropriate Internet based experience occurring as a result of, for example, free range browsing or discussion on `open' bulletin boards or in `open' chat rooms.
This educational action research study attempts to explore these and other issues in the context of a small-scale study. The main purpose of the study is to determine if the use of a course management system can enhance the educational experience of female second level students of the physical sciences. It attempts to establish if the functionality offered by the system can be used to deliver courses in the physical sciences in a manner that caters for the learning styles associated with females? It also investigates how broadening the learning community through links with a third-level institution, (in part mediated by the use of blackboard), can improve students learning? It considers if the use of progressive ICT will necessitate the application of alternative pedagogical approaches by the teacher? In other words, can traditional teaching methods accommodate newer technologies or must innovative and alternative methods be applied? This suggestion is succinctly encapsulated in the following quotation, which also indicates recent trends in this area of educational research:
The thrust of current research is no longer on comparing computer based learning with other media or with the teacher, but in determining what specific computer environments can best enhance student learning and in determining which instructional approaches used in conjunction with the computer are most effective
(Thompson et al, 1996.)
In a similar vein, this particular research attempts to investigate the potential of blackboard.com to enhance the learning experience of secondary school students. It is not proposing that these students will learn more through using blackboard.com than through traditional approaches. Rather it is exploring the possibility that online learning environments in conjunction with collaborative and problem-based learning can enhance the learning already taking place. It seeks to elicit the views of the students and perhaps go some way towards addressing all the issues outlined above.
It is thus envisaged that this study will be of interest to any secondary teachers considering incorporating course management system's into their traditional teaching programmes, especially science teachers, and others involved in similar areas of educational research. It will be of particular interest to those charged with implementing the recommendations contained within the Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences (2002). Its relevance for these groups involves their increased understanding of what it means to incorporate a virtual learning environment, at this particular level of education, as a supplement to traditional classroom teaching; how it impacts on students learning, and the situation they find themselves in and how it can in turn be justifiably accredited with providing a learning support for female students of the physical sciences?
This review is structured under four sub-headings, gender and science, teaching and learning, the school as process, and learning, teaching and online course management systems.
Each of these headings relates directly to the study's theoretical and conceptual frameworks. It should be noted that each of the subheading are interrelated and interdependent in terms of their relevance to the research questions and are merely subdivided for ease of orientation.
There has been a persistent under representation of girls in science, particularly the physical sciences, engineering, technology and ICT courses at both secondary and tertiary level Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences (2002). This appears to be an international trend and there is a large body of literature highlighting this imbalance. For example, the OECD outlined the fact that across countries with membership, fewer women are enrolled at tertiary level in the natural sciences and industrial and engineering fields (OECD/CERI, 1997). This worrying tread is compounded in that fewer women graduate in mathematics, computer science, engineering and architecture (OECD/CERI, 1997.). More recent statistics compiled by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) regarding such international trends found that "while there has been an increase in the enrolment of women in first-degree tertiary educational programmes in sciences, engineering and businesses, in most countries considerable imbalances remain". (OECD. 2001). In the United States, Weinman (1997) reports that women are awarded only 33% of bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences and just 13% of engineering associates degrees. Meanwhile, the European situation appears similar, according to Kosuch (2000), "in Germany female students continue to be underrepresented in science and engineering." Closer to home, a UK-wide survey on adult participation in education found that while a quarter of all those surveyed were studying computing, a similar gender imbalance exists with more men than women engaged in this area (Sargant, 2000).
Here in Ireland over the past decade, much research on general participation levels in higher education has been carried out by Clancy (1989, 1995, 2000) and it is encouraging to note that his most recent analysis confirms that "from 1992 to 1998 the female majority in science has increased by 7%" (Clancy, 2001). This welcome development looks set to continue as new female entrants in 1998 were in the majority in science at 58% (Clancy, 2001). Yet closer analysis reveals a worrying trend. According to Clancy (2001), technology had the highest enrolment with 26% of all new entrants choosing this field of study, but of those students only 22% were female. Thus, while we have seen a female majority in science increase by 7%, the male majority in computer science has similarly increased by 6% over the same period (Clancy, 2001). It would thus seem that while women are playing catch up in one field of study they are loosing out in another. Ironically, the ICT sector is being politically targeted for increased growth at both national and international levels and one could thus predict that yet again, woman are going to be left behind.
There can be little doubt that a considerable international body of evidence supports the Task Force's warning that "gender equity is a concern" with only 80% of girls at lower secondary level in single-sex schools taking science compared with 96% of boys and only 8% of girls taking physics at upper secondary level compared with 25% of boys (Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, 2002). Needless to say that concern is deepened by the realisation that decline in the secondary sector will inevitably feed through to third level institutions with a drop in recruitment of female students to science, engineering and technology (SET) courses in higher education set to continue.
To further compound matters such SET courses experience high failure rates in first year and have the highest non-completion rates of all disciplines (Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, 2002). The final grade achievement of female students is similarly of concern to the Commission on the Points System (1999), who claim that "while a marginally higher proportion of women than men attain high honours in the sciences (47% compared with 46%), women who were a first or second class grade 1 in science had a Leaving Certificate Grade Point Average at entry which was a full 10 points higher than their male comparators". Thus we can see that even if women choose to take science at third level and stay beyond first year -their final grades are merely comparable to male students regardless of the fact that most of the female students had higher grades on entry. Without doubt, something is going wrong.
While the Task Force (2002) view these problems as being multifaceted and thus lacking a single solution, they do provide a number of recommendations. Three of those recommendations are of particular relevance to this research project. Firstly, the notion of establishing a virtual learning environment to support the teaching and learning of science (to include a framework allowing teachers and others to structure and manage learning resources, curriculum content, student access, collaboration and assessment) is particularly pertinent. Equally, the idea of promoting innovation and research in the teaching and learning of science through the piloting of innovative approaches to teaching and learning and through the development of science teaching and e-learning resources ties in neatly with another aspect of my research objectives. Finally, the recommendation that recruitment to higher education SET courses can be supported through improved links between tertiary institutions and secondary schools is also addressed in this research. While these recommendations and similar measures might be regarded as possible steps towards addressing the problems, they are ineffectual unless considered in relation to the possible causes of the problems. For many, the root cause of the problem lies in the perception that girls are not as interested in studying science as boys. Much research has been carried out to determine if this is in fact the case. At its most basic that research has focused on; examining the processes through which students construct a sense of their gender identity; it has attempted to assess whether schools reinforce gender differentiation; and it has considered the potential role for schools in promoting social change in this area. In terms of this research it is primarily the latter two that are of most relevance.
Research to date varies on the extent to which learning styles differ by gender but there is general agreement that difference exists and needs to be addressed Montgomery and Groat (1998); and Zuga (1999). In general, findings indicate that boys are more competitive, girls more co-operative; boys are more abstract learners, girls have more anxiety about study success; boys are more intuitive, girls are more analytical; girls are more organised, boys more undirected.
While such research does serve to indicate that that the students themselves are active in the process of constructing a gender identity, the school does provide the social context in which that gender identity is elaborated. If we accept this premise, then we must also accept the view that teachers and their teaching have a considerable role to play in the process. Roger and Duffield (2000), cite a significant quantity of evidence suggesting that pedagogy should "not be predicated on a flawed concept of gender neutrality", but should take account of gender, and accommodate diverse and appropriate ways of thinking about and doing science that suit all students. They also refer to a body of evidence from the US, confirming the view that teacher-centred and whole class instruction is detrimental to girls' learning of science and that changes in the curriculum and pedagogical practice are necessary to address the problem
Teachers thus need to appreciate the different learning styles of each gender. If more girls are to be drawn to mathematics and science then active and cooperative learning settings rather than competitive, individualistic approaches must become the norm. Teachers can achieve this, according to Koch (1994), by setting up classrooms and designing and delivering courses in such a manner as to promote cooperation and collective learning opportunities. In a similar vein Thom (2002), proposes that girls will benefit from learning groups, field trips, discussions and counselling, as these learning tools tend to illustrate the relevance of the subjects in the wider context of the environment and society. But as suggested earlier, the classroom is merely a microcosm of the society in which it is embedded and schools do not operate in isolation. Changes that may occur within its walls must be supported and reflected by wider social, cultural and indeed practical changes. Schools need to support teachers in developing inclusive methods in teaching but equally creative collaborations between local agencies and educational institutions as well as the home can perhaps lead to success in increased female uptake of traditionally male subjects. In short, if students do indeed assimilate the social models that surround them in the adult world, those concerned with promoting science among female students must thus look beyond as well as within the classroom. I have attempted to do this during the course of this research by bringing female academics from university into the educational process under examination.
The influence of role models has been of concern to some educational researchers and accordingly the visibility of women singled out for their achievements in quantitative disciplines can change how girls think about these subject areas. On the other hand, Thom (2002) and Koch (1994) among others, stress that peers, as well as teachers and professionals, play a pivotal role in providing the encouragement considered critical to the progression of young women through to the fields of science and technology.
All female environments are therefore considered beneficial, by such researchers as Crombie et al (2000) and Butler (2000), in promoting the sciences to girls. They suggest that girls are more comfortable taking risks (seen to be an important component in the learning process) in all female environments. Koch (1994) reinforces this notion with the following quotation from a thirteen year old that claims she "can act smart without feeling dumb" in the single-sex environment. As referred to earlier, boys tend to take over and dominate discussions, answering all the questions and using the equipment first, whereas in an all female environment girls are forced to take on a variety of leadership roles. This is not to suggest that all the odds are stacked against the girls. According to Zuga (1999) and Crombie et al (2000), as women encountered communication technologies they have been quick to utilize them to maintain contact with other people, displaying typical women's ways of knowing such as having a need for context and explanation. This positive view of the role of ICT is balanced by the following quotation from Brunner (1997), "the ability to communicate with others and share ideas and stories corresponds to female fantasies. The ability to receive information instantly from vast resource archives and to present one's own ideas to the world corresponds to male fantasies". We can therefore see that the new technologies in themselves do not create the differences rather it is how the different genders use them that creates the disparity.
Returning to the `role' of role models, Brunner (1997) calls for learning environments that allow girls discuss personal concerns about science and technology, as well as professional matters, with women in high-tech professions. For him this can serve to humanize technology for potential female students. The importance of such positive personal contacts not only seem more appropriate to the female way of things but is essential if we accept the view expressed by Skilbeck (2000), that "academia, as perceived by critics, is characterised as traditionally elitist, male and patriarchal in its cultures, values and structures". It would thus seem that academic as well as professional female role models are of the utmost importance to female students and this is an issue I have attempted to examine during the research process. He goes onto cite research by Hawkins and Schulz, (1998) who claim that men "are encouraged by their professors, women not" (Skilbeck, 2000). This notion is worrying if Hannan et al's (1996) warning; that "academic self-image is most closely related to the nature of the parental and teacher feedback given to pupils and to the set of expectations with which they are confronted", is indeed true. Its validity can perhaps be demonstrated through the identification of six key factors underlying the gendered patterns of pupils subject options in schools as outlined by Roger and Duffield (2000). For them the following four factors strongly influence the choice of subjects made by students; teachers and teaching; primary teachers as change agents; guidance and careers advice and work experience. The other two factors being early socialization and the option choice process itself. If those four factors do indeed hold considerable sway in determining subject selection by female students, then the influence of positive female role models in that process cannot be underestimated. Consequently the influence of increased contact with positive professional and academic female role models is examined in this research project. Another factor to possibly influence student uptake and is the whole issue of science discourse. I believe it must be considered a factor as it constructs the logical, objective and impersonal as of a higher order than the personal, the uncertain and the non-linear, ascribed as feminine.
Meanwhile, socio-scientific discourse tends to be under emphasised in the science, engineering and technological arena of education, again to the detriment of the female student. While this factor is not of immediate concern to this research it does provide a backdrop against which other factors can be measured. Of more immediate concern is the opportunity provided by new technologies to positively influence the experience of female students in the SET areas. New technologies are beginning to be incorporated into classrooms and thus present us with an opportunity for re-conceptualising many aspects of pedagogy
Information and communications technologies have transformed other sectors of society including medicine, finance and manufacturing, and as suggested by Dede (1998), and they thus have the potential to revolutionise traditional educational infrastructures. The 1990's were characterized by rapid change, marked by the onset of a global economy, significant advancements in technology and the increasing impact of the World Wide Web. Concomitantly, learning environments also experienced change and some of those changes are illustrated by Papert (1998). These range from the increased use of computers in the classroom for personal productivity to the development of authentic educational technologies becoming infused into the curricula. Likewise the current trend of inventing new visions of education in the digital world rather than continuing to apply computer technology to traditional settings began during this period. It could thus be safe to say that the age of online learning has dawned.
Online education or e learning may be defined as an approach to teaching and learning that utilizes Internet technologies to communicate and collaborate in an educational context. An example of such technology is the Internet course management system `Blackboard.com' used throughout this research. Online education includes technology that supplements traditional classroom education with web-based components and learning environments where the entire educational process is mediated online. There is a wealth of literature dealing with Internet mediated teaching and learning, and it is only possible given the word limitations of this study, to review some of the relevant literature. While most of this literature referred to third level education and/or distance education, aspects are relevant to second level education and traditional classroom delivered/Internet hybrid courses. Before looking at how such technologies can impact on the learning process it is pertinent to define what I mean by the learning process.
As expected for such a complex and subjective area, educational researchers fail to reach a consensus regarding what constitutes learning and what does not, as maintained by Carr-Chellman and Duchastel (2000). They advance the view that learning, at its most fundamental, is a process of transformation of knowledge that occurs through the interaction of an individual with information in that individual's environment. Working with that definition of learning, instruction becomes the fashioning of the learner's environment to optimise information interaction, and hence learning. I believe that Course Management Systems can provide enhanced opportunities to fashion that environment and thus increased and varied opportunities for information interaction heretofore unavailable and this research attempts to explore that hypothesis. The earlier definition of learning in turn essentially defines teaching as a matter of guidance; matching individual student needs to appropriate information at the right time.
Consequently, learning is process and not product. Understanding cannot be taught or given from the teacher to the student; it belongs to and is owned by the student. Similarly, understanding cannot be gleaned from technology, but by interacting with information via technology. Recent studies on learning, for example Poole (2001), suggest that at all stages of the learning process, teaching is the key. Not teaching where the teacher is the source of knowledge, but teaching where the teacher prepares the environment in which learning will take place. This is echoed in Brookfield's (1986) assertion that the teacher's role in the learning process is to create the climate for learning. Bearing that in mind and in terms of this research, the better the teacher is trained in the use of technology for instruction, the more effective computer-based learning will be. In an ideal online course, Carr-Chellman and Duchastel (2000) argue that an openness of structure should encourage initiative and independent interaction, provide much learner control and hence have the potential to optimise the necessary matching of needs with resources.
Carr-Chellman and Duchastel (2000) also believe that trying to define an ideal online course is a risky business for several reasons; learning and instructional theory is fragile at this moment in time and online courses are themselves fairly new. Yet they are evolving very rapidly with increasing possibilities for learner-information interaction. New technologies (video streaming, virtual reality) being developed at present could make present virtual learning environments primitive looking within a matter of years (Carr-Chellman and Duchastel, 2000). However, I feel that use of online courses can only bolster existing educational practice. It is merely a question of determining how to get the best from them. Fortunately, Gilbert (2001) raises two questions that can guide educators as they adopt ICT into teaching and learning. By considering what are the most important results that you want to gain from adopting this technology, both for your students and yourself as well as what do you cherish most and not want to lose (for your institution), teachers can perhaps get the most from the new technologies. He goes on to state there is no Moore's Law for learning and that, unlike technology, it will not double its performance in eighteen months. Changes in learning will be slow and without a commitment to the above goals, technology will be adopted, but will not result in what we hoped for. This is in accord with Conlon (2002) who, in reference to Cuban's (2001) book Oversold & Underused: Computers in the Classroom, believes much more reflection about education in the modern era is required. Pedagogy and curriculum, indeed the whole philosophy of education should be addressed, before we start specifying hardware, software and Virtual Learning Environment configurations. Others such as Figuera and Huie (2001) carry the conjecture further, stating that in order for online learning to be effective, teachers must hold a belief system that is compatible with the constructivist approach to learning. With that in mind, it is important to examine the constructivist approach to learning and its relevance to this research.
Across a diverse range of educational settings, teaching and learning practices have changed significantly in recent years as a result of developments in psychological and pedagogical theory. One of these developments is that the behaviourist view of learning has lost a lot of ground to the cognitive view of learning. There are several principles that underpin the cognitive view of learning or constructivism each of which bears relevance to this research. The first principle, adapted by Dewey is that each person forms their own representation of knowledge, building on their unique experiences, and that there is no single correct representation. The second principle, attributed to Piaget by Slavin (1994), is that people learn through active exploration, and that learning occurs when the learner's exploration uncovers an inconsistency between their current knowledge representation and their experience. The third principle according to Dalgarno (2001), normally attributed to Vygotsky, is that learning occurs within a social context and the interaction between the learner and their peers is a necessary part of the learning process. Each of these principles add up to the view that learning occurs best within an environment that allows collaboration between the student, their peers, their teachers and professional and academic experts in the field. Each of these interactions within the context of both an ICT-based learning environment and a problem-solving situation is examined in this research.
A brief review of the literature dealing with the implications of the constructivist view of learning on computer-assisted learning prove telling. Dalgarno (2001) claims that the range of possible approaches to learning assisted by ICT, which incorporate constructivist theory, is broad and varied. Yet he points out that many Web-based learning resources do not realise the potential of the web and are still based on behaviourist assumptions and are thus merely printed materials in electronic form. Moore (2000) also cites extensive research into learning and cognition over the last 20 years and its implications for teaching. She highlights four components of effective learning environments that have emerged from this work. First, effective learning environments are knowledge-centred wherein the students understanding is emphasised over their ability to recall. Secondly, they are learner-centred, wherein individual students' learning styles and personal and cultural backgrounds are valued. Thirdly, they are community-centred, wherein learning activities are collaborative and foster a community of practice that involves legitimate peripheral participation. Finally, effective learning environments are assessment-centred, wherein formative assessment is used to make students' thinking visible to them and evaluations are performance oriented. During this study I have attempted to determine if the course management system can indeed facilitate the above components.
In term of this research project one of the more pertinent constructivist pedagogies is that of problem-based learning (PBL) as the research attempts to examine the impact of this approach for the students concerned. This focus on PBL occurred within the cyclical context of the methodology of action research and was not initially envisaged as being of relevance. Yet, it proved to be an invaluable framework for reassessment of the original research questions.
But, what is PBL and why is it of relevance to this research? Simply put, it is an approach to learning founded on the process of solving a problem and consequently acquiring knowledge and in turn problem solving skills. It was first applied in American medical schools to test the students' knowledge base and since then has come to be widely accepted as a useful strategy to promote active learning. Its characteristics could appear to be particularly relevant for female students as they can be summarised as being both student-centred and self-directive. Similarly, collaborative learning is encouraged through small group activities with the teacher acting as facilitator. The actual problems under investigation are the organising foci and stimuli for learning and if successful, new knowledge is acquired and problem-solving skills enhanced among the student body. Due perhaps to its growing reputation as "an alternative pedagogical model to the conventional, didactic one" (Greening, 2002), much has been published concerning this approach, e.g., Barrows (1985, 1994), Albanese and Mitchel (1993), and Schmidt et al (1987,1992) among others. Some of the more directly relevant pieces are reviewed below.
In a recent article Greening (2002) claims that differing concepts of PBL are evident in any review of the literature and indeed this is the case. But for ease of clarification the following three principles, as identified by Schmidt (1987), are considered to be the essential principles of PBL, namely: `activation of prior-learning, encoding specificity and elaboration of knowledge'. Thus, any learning activity that draws on the students' prior learning and knowledge; that draws on realistic and applicable contextual problems; and that leads to consolidation of knowledge through reflection and discussion, can therefore encompass Schmidt's principles and is thus considered to be a valid and reliable PBL activity for the purposes of this research project
Of course with advantages go disadvantages, and Harwell and McCampbell (2002) outline what they see as some of the more obvious disadvantages of PBL for the teacher. These includes such difficulties as being more time-consuming than traditional methods; the reliance on developing the `proper' problem to be solved to ensure success; and the fact that alternative methods of student assessment and course evaluation may need to be considered and developed.
Never the less, for many teachers PBL is a new and exciting prospect particularly in light of the research findings by Sobral (1995) who claims that his " results reinforce the idea that problem-based learning, even in a single-course experience, may enhance the emotional well-being of the participants and the quality of the learning environment". This consideration of the students' self-perception of the quality of the learning experience is particularly apt as it is in line with the objectives of this research. O'Hanlon et al (1995) similarly review student evaluation of a PBL programme and conclude that while the student participants were highly motivated by the PBL approach, overall they actually favoured the more traditional approach. The researchers suggest that this may be due to unfamiliarity with the PBL method and suggest that a period of `acclimatisation' may be beneficial. In a test of the examination performance of PBL medical students as compared to other medical students, Albanese and Mitchell (1993) like O'Hanlon et al (1995), suggest that while the PBL students failed to perform as well as the traditional students, the underlying cause might lie with the approach rather than the process itself.
On the other hand, Lieux (1996) discovered that PBL and traditional students in a food and nutrition course fared equally well in exams with the PBL students displaying a significantly higher attendance rate throughout the course.
Perhaps, what this canon of literature serves to prove is that because PBL is essentially in its infancy, the transition from traditional pedagogues to PBL classroom activities needs to be carefully negotiated as the benefits to the student may be more hidden and less amenable to conventional evaluation processes than traditional approaches. Yet, precisely because it is in its infancy it deserves and requires further research and until then it will merely function as an adjunct to conventional pedagogues albeit an increasingly popular one. What is clear is that the methodologies and tools employed in classrooms are no longer considered to be sacrosanct but open to transformation. Many could suggest that schools themselves are equally facing a period of transition and transformation.
Ewing and Smith (2001), succinctly state that schools have traditionally been regarded as physical and geographical places where the learners have assembled to be put into contact with the teacher and/or other knowledge sources. Some of the ICT developments outlined in the previous subheading are challenging this arrangement for formalised learning. Likewise, the teaching profession is no longer the sole custodian of the knowledge required of students by the national curriculum. During the past decade or so, the economic rationalism of the new right throughout the developed world has meant identifying new means of teaching and learning that are less costly than traditional methods. This has been most evident in third level institutions but is now trickling through to second level education. It has become increasingly obvious to many that the Internet can be used to successfully design, deliver, select, administer, support and extend knowledge and is forcing a shift in perspective from the school as place to the `school as process'. Indeed, as Conlon (2002) suggests, IT could help to realise the vision of a deschooled society that was famously portrayed in the early 1970's by Ivan Illich.
Conlon (2002) however, is not a proponent of deschooling as he sees it as excessively individualistic and pessimistic and believes that society ought to be `re-schooled', a phrase that he borrows from Hartley (1997). He advances the view that schools need to reinvent themselves with purposes and approaches that are transformed to suit changing times. In other words, schools and communities are being rushed into cyberspace without any clear educational vision of change. As the twenty first century unfolds, a schooling system designed for the era of the industrial revolution is no longer meeting the challenge of new times and cannot be mandated to adjust to the new environment by merely providing hardware and Internet connectivity. On an analogous level, Poole (2001), believes that the reality of our modern world (instantaneous, interactive, up-to-date, just in time, visually stimulating and 24/7) must be reflected in our schools if they are not to become anachronistic. He also feels that schools must engage students in relevant, meaningful work within the study of the vast knowledge base presently being forged by information technology (Poole, 2001). These ideas provide the framework for the development of the concept of school as process.
Ewing and Smith (2001) established that there are a number of reasons why the concept of school as `process' is becoming increasingly attractive to government, parents, students and teachers. They range from higher flexibility in delivery to lower costing. These run parallel to the reasons why it is also becoming an attractive proposition to large media/technology corporations, the potentially massive profits involved in online delivery of education undoubtedly being the overriding incentive. Given the current western trend for public-private partnerships, increased incorporation of ICT into our schools is inevitable. There are already several fully virtual high schools in operation in the United States and Australia. This has implications not just for learning in schools but equally learning at home not least because the characteristics of learning with ICT are similar to those of learning at home. Such characteristics as ascribed by Wellington (2001) are that it is voluntary, individual, haphazard with many unintended learning outcomes and more learner-centred. It is thus easy to see the major differences between learning at home and learning within the institutionalised context of the classrooms. Learning in school is dominated by the demands of the curriculum and the needs of the teacher to control and moderate the learning experiences and behaviour of large groups of young people with varying degrees of motivation and interest. The idea of school as process raises the issue not only of the role of ICT within that process but also the role of the home in that process.
Educational research has established that the influence of the home and family background on a child's achievement is at least as great as that of the school (Wellington, 2001). Computer and Internet resources in homes have increased considerably over the past few years. Approximately one third of the Irish population had home Internet access at end July 2001 according to the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation. Many parents, especially those of the middle-classes, see home computers as educational tools (Sanger et al., 1997). Research from Britain (Harris, 1999) showed that the majority of secondary school students had a computer at home and most likely the percentage has increased since the publication of that research. There is no reason to believe that the situation in Ireland differs from that of the UK and the above figures from the office of the communications regulator are thus perhaps not indicative of the percentage of secondary school students with home Internet access as homes with teenagers are more likely to have Internet access than those without. The rapid increase in computer and Internet access in the home will inevitably continue as a result of continuing and intensifying external pressures. Access to the Internet is also possible through public libraries and Internet cafes albeit at a higher cost in both financial and convenience terms. Consequently, many students have much greater access to the Internet and computing technology outside school than within the usually under-funded and under-equipped school itself. This would suggest that educational research into the area of ICT in education should perhaps focus more on the home and less on the school environment. A suggestion that is unfortunately beyond the scope of this research but one that perhaps warrants further consideration in the future.
The fundamental research question behind this study is how the use of a course management system, used as a supplement to traditional classroom teaching, impacts on the educational experience of female second level students of the physical sciences? Online educational delivery can have many different contexts. Specifically of concern in this study is the use of a course management system solely as an optional accompanying resource employed in the second level education of girls - traditional classroom teaching proceeded as usual throughout the study. I have chosen this context as I believe that educational change is slow and that such systems, if they gain a foothold in the Irish secondary education system, will do so initially under similar conditions. The study also attempts to establish if the functionality offered by the system can be used for courses in the physical sciences in a manner that caters for the learning styles associated with females and thereby leading to a more satisfying educational experience? It also considers if the use of new tools in the classroom necessitates the use of new teaching methods? Finally, it also investigates how broadening the learning community through links with a third-level institution, (in part mediated by the use of blackboard), can influence the students' attitudes to learning?
The class involved in the study is a Transition Year chemistry class of twenty students that I teach in an all girls secondary school in north County Dublin. This class was chosen in consultation with the school principal after factors such as access to the computer facilities of the school and possible distractive effects on more senior leaving certificate classes were taken into account. Junior Cycle classes were considered but deemed unsuitable regardless of the arguments advanced by the Task Force (Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, April 2002) for intervention at an earlier stage in the scientific education of the child in order to encourage increased uptake of the physical sciences. I felt that the Junior Cycle students' lack of formal classes in computer usage might be a hindrance to the progress of the study. Given the short time span of this study, and the restrictions on a single computer room in a school of 940 pupils, the task of training younger pupils in how to navigate a virtual learning environment might have proved too time consuming. In consultation with the school it was decided that the nature of Transition Year made it ideally suited to the enquiry. In addition, as a year group the participants have considerably more timetabled access to the computer room than any other year group. They are trained in the European Computer Driving License (ECDL) in computer classes and each student is therefore basically computer literate. Transition Year students also engage in many educational activities (e.g. 3 week work placements, drama productions, miscellaneous one day courses and guest speakers/trainers from many fields of life) and because of this they frequently miss class, sometimes at short notice. Thus, the school principal felt that the communications functionality offered by the course management system could be of particular benefit to these students. Finally, the students themselves were eager and keen to be involved in the research process and readily gave their consent.
As with other issues in education and society the problems of access and inequity are relevant to this study. This problem has always been with us - there have always been students without the right books, calculators, a quite room with a desk for study and an encouraging home environment. At present, a home computer and Internet access is frequently the latest addition to the neglected list. The school in which the study took place is a non-fee paying all-girl catholic secondary school with students from a mixed socio-economic background. Seventeen of the twenty students had home Internet access. From personal experience this figure of 85% home Internet access is probably higher than the norm for the rest of the school. In planning this study I was concerned with the possible constraints placed on those students lacking home Internet access or only very restricted access due to large phone bills and competition between family members for phone line usage for example. Similarly, the pressure their parents may have felt as a result of developing the supplementary virtual learning environment was another ethical consideration and I tried to deal with the matter in as delicate a manner as possible. Those without home computer access were assured that all parts of the course would be delivered in the traditional way and that the additional online component of the course was supplementary. Also, I could not assume that the parents were supportive of using ICT in this way. The word `supplement' was stressed and it was clearly explained that the material required for assessment was fully covered in class and the Blackboard Courseinfo material and facilities were an add-on and use of the system was not obligatory.
The students have three periods per week in the computer room where they are trained for the ECDL course. They are occasionally allowed Internet access during this time. It is also possible sometimes for the students to avail of the Internet facilities during break time. This less-than-satisfactory situation regarding Internet access is not untypical of a large non-fee paying school with a single computer room heavily scheduled with computer classes. Teachers' may bring their classes there only if a gap in the rooms' timetable exists and such gaps are not plentiful. To offset this problem, I made myself available to supervise the computer room after school hours or during any period when the students, the room and myself were free. Thus students are not allowed unsupervised access to the computer room.
This study involves students using a course management system outside of regular class time, at a time of their choosing and on a voluntary basis. As stated already, traditional classroom teaching proceeded as usual during the course of the study and therefore it was not possible to collect evidence or data during these times. The course management system ran parallel to the classroom and was only referred to in the traditional class. It would have been possible to bring the students to the computer room for one of the three chemistry periods they had per week in order to access the system but that would have constituted creating a false environment in order to generate data
The Blackboard Courseinfo course adapted for this study is hosted by blackboard.com. It was noted at the beginning of the study that there was considerable delay time in the downloading of web pages from the site, particularly at certain times of the day. The reason for this is unclear but probably because the host server is in the United States of America. Thus the best time to access the course is in the morning (GMT) as this is when the site experiences the least amount of traffic. This would consequently be a difficulty for Irish students using the site in their homes in the evening time. However, it was decided to press ahead with the study having discussed this with the students and having obtained their assurances that they would be tolerant of any inconvenience caused by these slow download times. Meanwhile there was no financially viable alternative. During the course of this study the download time did noticeably improve, probably as a result of hardware upgrades on behalf of blackboard.
A second limitation to the study is the lack of course statistics provided by blackboard.com. At the outset of the study, Blackboard Courseinfo was capable of providing detailed statistics to instructors about the usage of each course in terms of access by user, access by content areas, access per hour of the day and day of the week etc. This information was to be used as data in the study. A software upgrade by blackboard, introduced during the study, was no longer able to support this feature. Appeals to the support team at blackboard.com were unsuccessful.
The developers of the course management system software make, among others, the following claims regarding their product and the educational advantages that could arise (assuming access for all students) when supplementing a course with the web-based tools featured. (Blackboard.com, 2001). Below the relevant claims are summarised and then considered in the light of my present teaching practice, and the educational values I hold which are identified later in this chapter. These values I feel are not being fully lived in that practice but perhaps they can be through the use of this software. In other words, the following contains a list of some improvements to my practice I would hope this research can allow me make.
Enhancing student-to-student and teacher-to-student communication.
Web-based education tools provide many opportunities to increase communication between class members and teacher, including Discussion Boards, Virtual Classroom, and e-mails. Adding these elements to a course increases the potential for greater student motivation and participation in class discussions and projects.
Students have full timetables with no gaps, other than food breaks, during their working day. Pressure to complete courses with considerable content limits the availability of time for student-to-student and teacher-to-student communication. I am often approached by a student at the very end of class with a question that I do not have time to adequately address as another class is waiting outside and the student also must move on to her next class. The rigorously timetabled school day militates against such communication.
Students share perspectives.
Online forums, like Blackboard Courseinfo's Discussion Board and Virtual Classroom, provide public areas to post information. Each student can view another student's answers and learn through the exposure to different perspectives.
At present there is less scope than I would like for students to share perspectives with their whole class. Again, pressures of time are an impediment.
Students experience a sense of equality.
Each student (including the shy and anxious) has the opportunity to "speak up" by posting messages without typical distractions such as seating arrangements and volume of student voices.
From personal experience I feel some students would not contribute to a discussion unless they had an opportunity to `weigh' their words beforehand. As a consequence they do not contribute because the classroom dynamic does not really afford them the time to be so circumspect.
Teachers are more accessible.
Online communication provides an additional layer of teacher accessibility. This is particularly helpful when a student's timetable schedule has a gap of several days between consecutive classes or when students have assignments or study queries out of term.
I feel that I am accessible to all my students and they are encouraged to approach me with any difficulties that they might encounter with the course. However the crowded timetable can deter them from doing so and they have no other recourse at present.
Enabling student-centred teaching approaches.
Every student has a unique learning style. Some students are visual learners, some learn better when they "learn by doing". Web-based learning environments permit the teacher to build one course, yet implement a variety of resources, so students can utilize materials in whichever way works best for them.
Lack of sufficient ICT resources in schools hinders the employment of media rich Internet features across the curriculum. As a result, chalk and talk' is the most customary method of classroom teaching employed by me. Often the students do have these Internet resources at home and they are underused.
Accommodate different learning styles.
A teacher can also present these materials in many formats to accommodate different types of learning styles. For example, if a teacher puts both lecture notes and slides online, both visual and auditory learners benefit. Students who prefer to focus on "listening" and "watching" during class do not have to worry that they are missing important concepts while scrambling to take copious notes. They can focus on understanding the material and concepts as they are presented. Students with attention difficulties or those who get overwhelmed by organizational tasks also benefit, because materials provided show how the teacher has grouped and prepared materials in the handouts, and indicate what items are most important.
At present the learning environment that I have fashioned for the student is lacking in breadth and does not facilitate student-information interactions in the multiplicity of ways that I would like.
Provide opportunities for exploration.
Teachers can also provide increased opportunity for student exploration and activity learning by putting related web sites into Blackboard Courseinfo's External Links feature. When teachers reference these types of web sites, content reinforcement is provided as students can see how course material is utilized in "real world" situations.
I am very aware of the immense source of knowledge that the web has become yet I have not actively encouraged its use in my teaching practice as I am not satisfied with my ability at present to exercise adequate restraint over students' ad hoc access to web pages.
Encourage additional rehearsal time.
Additional benefits for those who "learn by doing" occur when students participate in online discussions, as students are exposed to an extra period of information rehearsal.
Again, the lack of opportunity to facilitate peer-to-peer interactions in class is of concern to me.
Providing 24/7 accessibility to course materials.
Some students work best in the morning, some in the evening. Scheduling time for homework and group projects can be difficult depending on each student's course, task, and personal responsibilities.
Students that do Transition Year in this school often describe it as their busiest year in school and complain of not having sufficient time to complete all the project work that they tend to get during the year. Opportunities that allow students to collaborate outside of traditional school time are poorly developed.
Continual access to materials.
When course content and activities are provided online, students no longer need to worry about accessing course materials. Students can complete assignments during their most productive times. Continual access to course documents also ensures students can obtain materials at any time, removing the opportunity for frustrations such as "I left my folder with my notes in it in my locker," or "I missed that handout during your class."
Hectic schedules can often muddle-up students to the extent that they forget to bring the right books home from their lockers thereby denying themselves the opportunity of arriving in class with completed homework. Such unfortunate lack of engagement with the course material can be quite common with some students and detrimental insofar as their progress is concerned. At present such scenarios are unavoidable.
Remove reliance on physical link-ups for group work.
In traditional education, students working on group projects must coordinate schedules. When web-based collaborative tools are available, coordination is less of an issue. Providing a work group with asynchronous discussions and file uploads, students can work in groups without the constraints of meeting together at a certain date, time, and location.
It is generally considered inappropriate to expect students to meet together as groups outside of school hours for the purpose of coursework as it is often logistically very difficult for them to do so.
Providing just-in-time methods to assess and evaluate student progress.
Learner assessments are essential in education. Tests and surveys inform the teacher whether teaching methods and course structures are successful. These assessments also determine if student progress is satisfactory and allow the student to gauge their own competence and mastery of a topic.
The amount of time that can be spent on assessment is limited at present, both from the point of view of scheduling class time in which to get the students to sit the test, and from the point of view of correcting it.
Adds pedagogical benefits.
Frequent Web-based assessment provides concept reinforcement and increases motivation. Teachers can post practice exams and end-of-chapter reviews without worrying about finding the time and resources to analyse results.
As above.
Reducing amount of time spent on "administrivia."
In addition to the pedagogical benefits of online learning, there are also several time and money saving advantages. Students can save and print items as needed when provided handouts and readings online. Teachers can also use E-mail to send messages directly to students or the Announcements feature to communicate with the entire class.
It is very difficult to communicate with all students outside of scheduled class times. Much valuable teacher resource time is spent in administrative duties such as photocopying, chasing students absent on certain days to make sure they have the handouts, and so on.
Utilize time efficiently.
The time saving elements introduced by web-based education tools like Blackboard Courseinfo apply to both the teacher and the student. Students benefit because they have immediate access to course materials at any location. They do not have to spend time walking to the teachers' room. Teachers can minimize time spent in office hours, and address student concerns online instead.
Maximize the classroom experience.
Teachers working with tools like Blackboard Courseinfo no longer have to spend valuable classroom time dealing with "administrivia." The 15 minutes at the start of each class typically spent distributing handouts, collecting assignments, and making announcements can be utilized for teaching when administrative tasks are managed through online tools.
Reduce teacher workload.
Teachers can also save time using products like Blackboard Courseinfo. When the Quiz/Survey generator is used to deliver tests, all the grading and analysis is automated.
Eventually a teacher has to move on from doing one type of problem and progress through a course, even if some students need further reinforcement in the previous area. Students should be enabled to continue with similar problems until they are confident about them, and to get feedback on those problems. Opportunities to do so are rare.
This brief examination of the claims made for Blackboard Courseinfo should be viewed in tandem with the brief examination of my embodied values as an educationalist outlined as follows.
For a practitioner to make judgements as a consequence of action research, (this will be discussed in more detail later), they should first have reflected on their professional values. This statement will identify the values held that are being denied in this situation and imagine how I would like the situation to evolve so that it is in keeping with my values (McNiff et al. 1996). Through discussion with my supervisor and peers I have identified that I hold the following relevant values
I am unable to give my understanding of a subject to a student. Each student will develop their own unique understanding as a consequence of their interactions with knowledge, which I, in part, provide.
I have a duty to try and create the best environment possible to facilitate learner-knowledge interaction and allow the students come to their own understanding of a subject. I have a duty to use my skills and experience to mould that environment in a manner that best suits their needs as learners.
The learner is not always ready to learn at the time that I am scheduled to teach.
Students can often learn better through peer-peer interaction and it is my duty to facilitate this.
Students must learn how to learn and need to take responsibility for their own learning.
This brief overview of the list of values, which emerge from my practice coupled with the brief examination of the claims made for the software, can allow me test the validity of both before transforming them into communicable standards of judgements. By thus creating my own living educational theory I can begin to reflect on it, essentially through, the research enquiries as outlined below and subsequently improve my teaching practise in accordance with the values that I hold.
The module taught to the students during the research period was based upon Section 3 of the Leaving Certificate Chemistry Syllabus (Department of Education and Science, 1999). That section includes the sub-sections of states of matter, the gas laws, the mole, chemical formulas and chemical equations. It is essentially their first experience of quantitative chemistry. The aims and objectives of the module are those applicable to the Leaving Certificate Chemistry syllabus as a whole. The module was taught over a fifteen-week period beginning in the middle of January and finished in mid-May. During this period the students were unavailable for classes for a total of eight weeks (three weeks work experience, one week mid-term break, two weeks full time drama production involvement and two weeks Easter break), though, needless to say, they had access to the course, and their teacher and peers through the course management system.
As referred to earlier the process of action research involves the practitioner in a self-reflective spiral whereby the `research proposal' is prospective to action, and retrospectively constructed on the basis of reflection. Hence a cyclical process of proposed change, observation or monitoring, reflection and modification takes place. The implementation of my research enquiry is therefore subdivided into `cycle' headings. Within each of these cycles the implications of the introduction of Blackboard Courseinfo into the class is reviewed as they build on the development of the cyclical process of theory, practice and transformation attempted throughout the research process. As the practice begins to transform, new theory as well as practice, begin to emerge, (for example the need to include external agents in the education process, the introduction of PBL and modifications to Blackboard Courseinfo), all within the structure of constant social validation.
The latter helped me understand the emerging practice and guide the research and is inseparable from my application of Winter's (1989) criteria of rigour within the various cycles.
The Blackboard Courseinfo website was appropriately developed, usernames and passwords were generated for all the students and all the course material was put into an electronic format suitable for posting online. The research was discussed and agreed with the parties involved. The school's other chemistry teacher was invited to participate in the online community and was registered with `instructor level' access, along with my supervisor and myself. My chemistry colleague was asked to provide criticism and comment throughout the enquiry.
At the beginning of the research period the students had two classes in the computer room during which they received their username and password to the system and instructions on how to log on to the system. The classes were each of forty minutes duration and were one week apart. During these classes, the students were shown the various features of the system and given an opportunity to explore and familiarise themselves with its layout. In these initial stages of the study, indeed throughout the study, the students were encouraged to access the supplemental material placed online, and to visit the reference websites and use them as additional educational resources. They were also encouraged to use the communications features of the system, either the student-teacher or student-student email features or the discussion forum feature particularly if they experienced any difficulties with the course. As the classes progressed it became clear that while some of the homework assignments were proving difficult for the students they failed to use the system as a means of acquiring assistance. I decided to bring this issue up in class but was met mostly with silence. However, some comments were made and these were recorded in my diary as follows:
Teacher: Girl's, it's evident that some of you are having a little difficulty with parts of the homework that I am giving you. If I give you homework on Wednesday for the following Monday, you should be able to find the time to use email or post to a discussion forum during the week if you are getting stuck on it. It was set up for your benefit so that you can get help, as you need it.
Student 1: But if we want help with the homework we just go and ask a friend, as we have always done.
Teacher: But what if your friends in the class don't know the answer. If you had posted the difficulty you were having up on the discussion forum, then it would be possible for the whole class to provide help and the teacher too, if need be. That way there is a much wider pool of people to provide help to everybody.
Student 1: Hmm, I suppose.
Student 2: Sir, what if you want to post up something without it being known who you are, in case you are embarrassed?
Teacher: It's not set up for anonymous posting but I could make it that way if that is what you want. (Pause). But if somebody starts a discussion thread entitled "Who else thinks teacher is a plonker" I will be coming after you as chief suspect, Jane. (Gets a laugh). I will set up a specific discussion forum, entitled `HELP', to which anybody may post, and to do it anonymously if they choose. With blackboard you can get help a lot more easily than without it, so please use it girl's.
The above exchange is typical of the short exchanges that occurred several times in class as a consequence of the students' lack of engagement with the communications features of Blackboard Courseinfo.
To encourage greater usage of the system it was decided to give the students an assignment to do that necessitated their use of the system in a different manner. The assignment was 20% of their end-of-year grade. The students were to miss class for a two-week period because of their involvement in the Transition Year dramatic production. An assignment was set on the contribution of Robert Boyle to modern chemistry and reference websites were posted into Blackboard Courseinfo. The students were given a deadline of several days before their next chemistry class and they were asked to send it to me electronically through the digital drop-box facility in blackboard.
The students were also told that the most interesting snippet of information on the life of Robert Boyle, posted to the discussion forum set up for the assignment, would receive a bonus ten points. They were also told they could email it to me if they wished (I had encountered some difficulty using the drop-box facility in test runs and anticipated that they might also). Of those that submitted the assignment on schedule, one did so through the digital drop-box, seven did so via email and eight submitted by hand. Only one student posted a snippet to the discussion forum in search of the ten bonus points on offer for doing so. Two of the students came and told me they were unable to access the website as they do not have Internet access at home and had to use encyclopaedias to obtain information. They were slightly annoyed at the situation. They also claimed not to have had the time to stay in outside of hours to use the computer room. During the period of the assignment there was no assistance sought by the students from myself through the use of the communications features of blackboard.
Mid-way through the period of the research the students were given notice of a mid-term test. This mid-term test they were informed would be a further 20% of their end-of-year grade. In order to assist the students in their preparations for this test the online assessment facility of Blackboard Courseinfo was employed.
A test on the subject matter was devised and posted into the course management system. The students, at their convenience, could do the test and obtain immediate feedback on their performance and the solutions to the test. The students were advised to do the test when they believed they had a good understanding of the subject matter. Once again they were encouraged to use the communications features of the system if they needed help with the sample test. No student did so, but two students did approach me after class with regards one of the questions on the sample test. Once the students accessed the test it became electronically noted in the online assessment management feature available to all course instructors. Of the seventeen students with home Internet access only eleven were recorded as having visited the online test page.
Of the six students with home Internet access that did not visit the online test, five of them finished as the bottom five in the class in the actual mid-term test. This suggests that those students that accessed the online test benefited educationally from doing so.
The mid-term test was scheduled to take place during the students' single class period on Monday morning. I decided that this was an ideal time to get the students to use the virtual classroom feature of blackboard. This is a synchronous communications feature rather like an Internet chat room. It differs from an Internet chat room insofar as it is restricted to the members of the online community and it also gives the instructor additional control over the proceedings of the virtual room. Among the instructional features available to the teacher is the ability to pull-up slides into the virtual classroom.
I thought that holding a virtual classroom session the evening before the test would be a good time to get the students to use the feature and accordingly developed some slides for use as last minute revision material. I intended to let the students collaborate with each other and only to use these slides if necessary. The virtual classroom session was announced to the students a week in advance. However, I was alone in the virtual classroom as no student opted to avail of the opportunity, but the archives show that one student entered it two hours after the appointed time. Needless to say, I was gone by then.
Embarking on this study I realised I would have one attempt at developing a supplemental online learning environment for the purpose of the study. Nine of the twenty students in the study had been students of mine for three years already and had a particular impression of me as a classroom teacher. The other students would probably have had views about me as a teacher from student-to-student conversations. I would always have considered myself a firm-but-fair teacher who felt that maintaining classroom discipline was one of the more important requirements of my work.
My classroom approach could be described as didactic; most of my class time spent delivering knowledge in the `chalk and talk' manner. I felt that success in the online environment that I developed would depend on my setting the right tone for that environment and would mean implementing a more relaxed environment. I also believe that I was bound to make many mistakes during this first attempt. The new medium/modality presented many challenges, just as classroom teaching had presented in my early teaching career, and mistakes were inevitable.
Over the years I have tried to constantly assess my classroom teaching and modify it, as appropriate, according to the feedback received in order to achieve additional success. In this short study the opportunities for making adjustments based on feedback were very limited.
It was becoming frustratingly obvious to me that my efforts at persuading the students to voluntarily adopt the online communications features of the course management system were not being very successful and that I needed to evaluate the situation and thus move on to another cycle. The educational values that I claimed earlier to hold were not being lived in practice. In particular my values concerning the fashioning of the right environment to promote peer-to-peer collaboration and encouraging responsibility in the students for their own learning were being contradicted by the reality of the situation. I became aware of a need to find a different approach in order for these new ideas about the educational opportunities presented by the technology to be accommodated. In discussions with my supervisor, Margaret Farren, I explained these frustrations and we talked through possible solutions to these difficulties. In a subsequent validation meeting with Dr. Jack Whitehead and other teacher researchers, he identified this period "as perhaps the most significant in the enquiry ….. the fact that you negotiated with another partner in education, and gained some ideas, and tried them out, has clearly taken your own learning forward". We felt that the students needed more incentives to employ the technology and that the online community was too enclosed. We then considered ways to open up the community, in the time that was still available, to others without direct attachment to the school.
By doing so, use of the virtual environment could be made much more convenient and appropriate and the students could become accustomed to its usage. Of course, in making the use of the system a necessity it became necessary to facilitate the use of the system by the students during class time. This situation was not envisaged at the outset of the enquiry but from what I discovered in my research concerning usage of the system, I felt that a new cycle had to commence into the research.
In the discussions with my supervisor we also considered the focus of the research and discussed my readings on female participation in the physical sciences, in particular, the lack of successful role models available to them. In that context, my supervisor put me in contact with a faculty member of the School of Chemical Sciences in Dublin City University, Dr. Odilla Finlayson, who has a particular interest in education, especially in the area of problem-based learning. Dr. Finlayson explained to me the problem based learning techniques that were being deployed in some courses in her faculty and believed that they could just as successfully be deployed at second level. She generously volunteered to come visit the school and engage the students in a PBL session. Towards the end of the research period Dr. Finlayson, and Margaret Farren visited the chemistry class and conducted an eighty-minute session using PBL techniques.
The session involved the students splitting into groups of between three and five students after Dr. Finlayson had identified a suitable problem for them. Dr. Finlayson applied the problem to the real world experiences of the students' so that it presented authentic opportunities for them. The subject matter was organised around the problem and not around the discipline of chemistry thereby giving the students responsibility for defining their learning experience and planning to solve the problem. Both Dr. Finlayson and I circulated through the room encouraging the students to collaborate together and guiding them in asking questions appropriate to finding a solution. The students were expected to demonstrate the results of their learning by presenting their solutions to their classmates at the end of the period. The problem concerned the viability of establishing a small balloon-selling business and they were expected to solve it using the information they already possessed about the gas laws and the chemical elements.
This would lead them to a greater appreciation of what they already knew by engaging in investigation to better understand the problem and then resolve it.
At the end of the session, Dr. Finlayson presented the students with another problem to be solved through collaboration in the same class groups. The students were instructed to give themselves a grade for their work and to briefly justify that grade. This, it was felt, would make the students take more responsibility for their learning as it would promote a sense of ownership of the learning process, in accordance with the educational values espoused earlier. The grade they assigned themselves constituted fifty percent of their overall grade for the assignment. It was agreed that the solutions arrived at would comprise twenty percent of their end-of-term grade and that Dr. Finlayson would assign a total mark to each groups solution. I then registered Dr. Finlayson in the Blackboard Courseinfo community and set up a discussion forum specifically for the problem. It was intended this forum would be used for asking questions by the students while they were considering the problem and also for submitting a solution when finished.
The next class I had with the students was one week later and they were given twenty minutes at the end of that class to work in their groups on the problem. They were given a deadline five days later and were told they could go to the computer room, if they wished to do so at that time, to post their assignments. One group posted their assignment on the Sunday before the deadline, and the following day the other groups posted theirs from the computer room. In the twelve days that passed between receiving the PBL assignment and submitting the solution, only one student made a posting to the discussion forum, but several did ask questions of me during school hours. Dr. Finlayson considered all the solutions, commented upon each via the discussion forum and assigned grades.
Initially it was not intended to have a link to a third level institution as a part of the research but it occurred as a consequence of the cyclic nature of action research. Dr. Whitehead, during the first peer validation meeting commented, "You cannot underestimate the importance of unintended outcomes in educational enquiry".
Although PBL was not in my mind at the outset of the study, it became part of the enquiry as a consequence of my reflection on the failure of the students to mirror my enthusiasm for the systems features, an enthusiasm I foolishly assumed they would share. I discovered the students showed more enthusiasm for this new way of learning than they did for the communications features of the system, but this new means of learning, in turn, provided a reason to engage with those communications features and incorporate them into their learning processes.
Of course the research was not only concerned with improving learning opportunities for my students and thus within this cycle a final validation meeting was called and my supervisor, three other teacher-researchers and I attended it. This validation meeting was considered in tandem with Winter's (1989) criteria for rigour. During the meeting I spent forty-five minutes presenting my action research enquiry, the understandings that I reached as a consequence of undertaking the enquiry, and the transformations in my teaching practice that resulted from those understandings, to my peers. To provide a focus and assist the teacher-researchers clarify their action research my supervisor posed the following questions at the meeting.
Is the description and explanation for the teacher-researcher's learning comprehensible?
Is there sufficient evidence to justify the claims being made?
Are the values that constitute the enquiry as ' educational' clearly revealed and justified?
Is there evidence of the teacher-researcher's educational influence in the learning of others?
Is the description and explanation for the teacher-researcher's learning comprehensible?
Question: What has the teacher-researcher learnt?
Answer: That adoption of such a system in the Irish secondary sector, in a way that utilises the system to its full potential, is unlikely unless the educational community can be extended beyond the school walls.
Answer: Students do see considerable potential for learning in such a system and acknowledge the benefits to their learning environment.
Answer: Students of upper secondary school age do not have serious usability issues with such a system
Answer: Such a course management system could successfully help mediate any secondary-tertiary initiative, or indeed any links external to the school environment, that result from the recommendations of the Task Force On The Physical Sciences
Is there sufficient evidence to justify the claims being made?
Question: What claims are made?
Claim one Irish second level students are reluctant to use such a system to its full potential, especially its potential to facilitate student-student collaboration, in the geographical/physical context that second-level schooling in this country takes place.
Evidence Lack of use of communication facilities throughout the research period.
Lowest ratings given to communication facilities in survey.
Response of students in interview.
Claim two No serious usability problems with the system.
Evidence Usability test results
Survey Question on usability
Claim three Students recognise potential of the system to enhance their educational experience.
Evidence Survey evidence
Interview evidence
Claim four Can successfully facilitate secondary-tertiary links
Evidence PBL Session and subsequent communications
Are the values that constitute the enquiry as ' educational' clearly revealed and justified?
Question: What educational values do I hold that have a bearing on this enquiry?
Answer: I am unable to give my understanding of a subject to a student. Each student will develop their own unique understanding as a consequence of their interactions with knowledge, which, in part, I shall provide.
I have a duty to try and create the best environment possible that will facilitate learner-knowledge interactions and allow the students come to their own understanding of a subject. I have a duty to use my skills and experience to mould that environment in a manner that best suits their needs as learners.
The learner is not always ready to learn at the time that I am scheduled to teach. Students can often learn better through peer-peer interaction and this needs to be facilitated.
Students need to take responsibility for their own learning.
Is there evidence of the teacher-researcher's educational influence in the learning of others?
Question: Have I influenced student learning?
Answer: Success of those students that visited online pre-test in the mid-term test as opposed to those that did not.
Robert Boyle Assignment primarily answered using online resources made available through blackboard.
PBL assignment submitted online for evaluation and comment by third level lecturer
Students survey and student interview.
The following is a detailed breakdown of the responses to the questions asked in the student survey.
Features of blackboard as rated by the students
Please rate how useful you find the following blackboard courseinfo features?
1 = No use whatsoever, 2 = Not really useful, 3 = Neither useful or not useful, 4 = Quite useful, 5 = Very useful
|
N |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
|
|
Announcements |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.85 |
.875 |
|
Course Material |
20 |
3 |
5 |
3.70 |
.571 |
|
Syllabus |
20 |
3 |
5 |
3.70 |
.733 |
|
Website Section |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.80 |
.768 |
|
Discussion forum |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.60 |
.883 |
|
Virtual Classroom |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.25 |
.910 |
|
Student - student email |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.20 |
.834 |
|
Student - teacher email |
20 |
2 |
4 |
3.40 |
.681 |
|
Online testing |
20 |
2 |
5 |
4.20 |
.951 |
|
Online grade check |
20 |
3 |
5 |
4.55 |
.686 |
|
Online assignment submission |
20 |
2 |
5 |
4.00 |
1.124 |
|
Blackboard Academic Resources |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.45 |
.945 |
|
Blackboard Help |
20 |
2 |
4 |
3.15 |
.587 |
|
Valid N (listwise) |
20 |
The above table details the response by students to how they rate the usefulness of the features of blackboard.com. A mean score above 3 suggests a positive rating by the students. All features achieved this positive rating. The most highly rated features related to grade checking and online assessment signalling the importance of examination performance and rapid feedback to the students. Those features that support increased communication (discussion board, virtual classroom and email), although rated positively, were not as highly rated as even the more administrative features such as syllabus, announcements and course material. This is keeping with the feedback received from the students during the cycles of the Action Research, particularly the first cycle. This overall positive response should be of interest to those charged with implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, particularly section 3.1, which is concerned with the establishment of a virtual learning environment for science and section 3.2, which is concerned with innovation and research in the teaching and learning of science
Online community membership as rated by the students
Apart from your teacher and classmates, whom else would you like to see in this online community?
1 = Definitely no, 2 = No, 3 = Neither yes or no, 4 = Yes, 5 = Definitely yes
|
N |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
|
|
All students from own school |
20 |
2 |
5 |
3.95 |
.945 |
|
All teachers from own school |
20 |
3 |
5 |
4.05 |
.686 |
|
Lecturers from third level |
20 |
4 |
5 |
4.55 |
.510 |
|
Parents from school community with expertise in the subject |
20 |
1 |
5 |
2.80 |
.951 |
|
Female students from other local schools |
20 |
1 |
5 |
4.05 |
.999 |
|
Male students from local schools |
20 |
1 |
5 |
4.10 |
.968 |
|
Teachers from other local schools |
20 |
1 |
5 |
4.00 |
1.026 |
|
Valid N (list wise) |
20 |
The above table details the response by students regarding whom they would like to see constituting an extended learning community. A mean score above 3 suggests a positive rating by the students. All features, except one, achieved this positive rating. This suggests that the students are generally enthusiastic about the learning possibilities offered by broadening the learning community through the use of such technology. The students felt that the inclusion of third level lecturers, with the highest mean score of 4.55, and the smallest standard deviation of 0.51 would be of most benefit. Again, in section 3 of the Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, (2002), it is stated that to achieve the goal of catalysing innovation in teaching and learning in schools, partnership across educational levels will be critical. This high score probably reflects the satisfaction that the students derived from the educational experience they had with Dr. Finlayson and the resulting follow up to that experience which was mediated through the course management system. Surprisingly, the students signalled that they would be unhappy to have parents (mean score 2.80) from the school community, with a background in the subject, as members of the community.
Preference of students regarding community constituents by gender
Would you prefer if the community was…?
1 = Definitely no, 2 = No, 3 = Neither yes or no, 4 = Yes, 5 = Definitely yes
|
N |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
|
|
All female community |
20 |
1 |
3 |
2.40 |
.681 |
|
All male community |
20 |
1 |
3 |
2.45 |
.686 |
|
Mixed community |
20 |
3 |
5 |
4.35 |
.745 |
|
Valid N (listwise) |
20 |
From this table it is clear that the students have a much stronger preference for a mixed community. No student expressed a positive response to a single sex community, and conversely, no student expressed a negative response to a mixed community. (An all male community was explained to the students as a link up with one other all-male school). This evidence contradicts the suggestions in the literature review that female students of the physical sciences are more comfortable in single sex learning environments, however, the research has to be put into context. Those finding originated from the USA and Canada where the norm is to have co-educational environments. The students in this survey have no experience of co-educational secondary schooling
Rated effort made with blackboard courseinfo
How would you rate the effort you made (time you put in) to familiarize yourself with Blackboard Courseinfo after your initial introductory classes?
Very highly Highly Moderately Poorly No effort at all
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
Poorly |
5 |
25.0 |
25.0 |
25.0 |
|
Moderately |
13 |
65.0 |
65.0 |
90.0 |
|
|
Highly |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
95.0 |
|
|
Very highly |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
This table suggests that the students feel they could have made a greater effort exploring the system (mean value < 3, (2.90), where 5 = Very highly and 1 = No effort at all) with 95% of the students rating their effort as moderate or less.
Rated usability of blackboard courseinfo?
How would you rate the overall usability (ease of use) of Blackboard Courseinfo?
Very easy Easy Neutral Difficult Very difficult
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
Difficult |
4 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
Neutral |
7 |
35.0 |
35.0 |
55.0 |
|
|
Easy |
9 |
45.0 |
45.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
No student considered the system either very difficult or very easy. The mean value = 3.25 (where 5 = Very easy and 1 = Very difficult) suggesting that overall the system did not prove so difficult for the students to us that it would have deterred them from doing so. This finding echoes that of the usability test.
Estimation of usefulness of blackboard courseinfo
DoesBlackboard Courseinfo help you with your homework, assignments and study?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
No |
2 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
|
Neither yes or no |
5 |
25.0 |
25.0 |
35.0 |
|
|
Yes |
12 |
60.0 |
60.0 |
95.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
These results show that no student felt that it definitely did not help (1). The mean value for the response is 3.60 with a standard deviation of 0.754. This indicates that the students felt that it was a positive help with regards their education. The histogram below illustrates the results.
1 = Definitely not
2 = No
3 = Neither yes or no
4 = Yes
5 = Definitely yes
Could Blackboard Courseinfo help you with your homework, assignments and study?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
No |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
Yes |
10 |
50.0 |
50.0 |
55.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
9 |
45.0 |
45.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
The results of this question are interesting when compared with the previous one. Ninety five percent of the students replied affirmatively in this case. In effect, only one of the twenty students of the class did not see any potential educational benefits from the use of the system. The mean value of the response increased to 4.35 and the standard deviation was slightly less at 0.745. This represents a marked shift in the direction of a positive response from what was already quite positive. Although the students may not have used the system much during the period of the research, they feel that, in other circumstance they would avail of its features. This could be explained in terms of the students' comments about the circumstances in which they might use it most, i.e., in an examination year.
1 = Definitely not
2 = No
3 = Neither yes or no
4 = Yes
5 = Definitely yes
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
Neither yes or no |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
Yes |
15 |
75.0 |
75.0 |
80.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
4 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
The response to this question is almost unanimously positive. The mean value of the response was 4.15 with a standard deviation of 0.49 (5 = Definitely yes and 1 = Definitely no). The students strongly felt that the creation of an online community could be an aid to their learning.
Would the setting up of a 'broader online' community make the study of the subject more attractive to you?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
No |
2 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
|
Neither yes or no |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
15.0 |
|
|
Yes |
15 |
75.0 |
75.0 |
90.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
2 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
This response is not as overwhelmingly positive. The mean value of the response here is 3.85 with a standard deviation of 0.75 (5 = Definitely yes and 1 = Definitely no). Most of the students felt that the prospect of participating in such an online community would increase the appeal of the subject. Again this is important when placed against the backdrop of the Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences (2002), which states "in terms of appeal to Leaving Certificate students as a whole, the drawing power of nearly all of the science subjects fell during the period 1985-2000, ?.. the popularity of Leaving Certificate Chemistry declined more rapidly than Leaving Certificate Physics which in turn declined more rapidly than Leaving Certificate Biology". All options that improve the appeal of these subjects need to be considered and the evidence here is that a virtual community is one of those options insofar as female students are concerned.
Did you feel that the link-up with the Chemistry Department from DCU to do some Problem Based Learning was beneficial?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
No |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
Neither yes or no |
2 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
15.0 |
|
|
Yes |
6 |
30.0 |
30.0 |
45.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
11 |
55.0 |
55.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Once again the response is very positive with a mean of 4.4 and a standard deviation of 0.89 (5 = Definitely yes and 1 = Definitely no). The Report of the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, (2002), advocates the establishment of "schools-college links for science promotion by SET lecturers" and quotes the Limerick Working Group on Science Education, 2001, which advocates the development of links to science-based companies in the area of the school. Use of a system such as that employed in this study could successfully facilitate those links. The PBL session with Dr. Finlayson was clearly felt to be of educational benefit to the students and the follow-up to that session, mediated through blackboard, was conducted without any difficulty.
Do you feel that the exposure to a different learning and teaching method improved your understanding of the subject matter?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
Neither yes or no |
4 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
Yes |
9 |
45.0 |
45.0 |
65.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
7 |
35.0 |
35.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
The students felt that the exposure to the alternative teaching and learning methods associated with PBL had a positive effect on their understanding of the subject matter. The mean response to the question was 4.2 with a standard deviation of 0.75 (5 = Definitely yes and 1 = Definitely no). This is further evidence of how extending an education community, with the assistance of a course management system, can enhance the learning experience of the students.
Would you be interested in further link-ups, in part mediated through Blackboard Courseinfo, with third level institutions?
Definitely yes Yes Neither yes or no No Definitely not
|
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
||
|
Valid |
Neither yes or no |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
Yes |
10 |
50.0 |
50.0 |
55.0 |
|
|
Definitely yes |
9 |
45.0 |
45.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
The mean response to this question was 4.4 with a standard deviation of 0.60 (5 = Definitely yes and 1 = Definitely no). This very positive response strongly reflects how highly the students rated the educational experience of linking to third level and engaging in different teaching and learning situations as a consequence.
For ease of clarification I have identified and categorised the following broad themes which emerged from the semi-structured group interviews:
Many comments were made regarding the novelty involved in using the system and how it made the class different, typically," the interaction with computers I think made it a little more enjoyable", or "using the computers seemed very modern". The features of the system were favourably commented upon in a manner that echoed the responses given in the survey, that is, the most praised being the assessment features while the least praised were the communications features. The opportunities afforded to expand the learning environment were also positively commented upon. Comments were also made regarding how using blackboard has also enhanced the computer skills of the students.
Several comments were made concerning access to the site and problems with downloading pages, especially the speed with which some downloaded. The frustration of some students was evident with comments such as "I have found the links slow or shaky. This was how it was different. In school most things are easily accessible through books. On blackboard the time taken to find information increased".
How it could be used to the students benefit.
The students unanimously expressed the view that more resources (sample problems, solutions, more supplemental notes), additional online tests, other online assignments and expanding the community would be of benefit to them. In essence the students responses stated that the system could be used to their benefit in exactly the way that it was being used in the enquiry. From their responses I believe there is ample evidence that the students recognise the potential of the system even if they failed to avail of its potential.
Students gave a variety of reasons for not communicating online. These reasons suggested some were embarrassed or lacked the confidence to use these features as the following comments illustrate - "Probably the main reason I didn't communicate online was because of the fear of asking a question that would appear very obvious and very easy to answer", or "sometimes embarrassed because haven't got a clue what is going on in class". Several stated that it seemed nobody used the discussion boards or virtual classroom. They claimed they would use the communications features more if others did so. This possibly was expressing a fear that they might find themselves the only person in the virtual classroom with the teacher, an understandably awkward situation for many a sixteen-year-old student. Others stated they saw no point when they could use the phone or just ask each other in school. The access difficulties mentioned earlier were also given as a reason for under use. Several students were honest in admitting laziness, as a reason for not using the system more, while others claimed being overwhelmed with projects and other activities in Transition Year was a deterrent. They also expressed views that they would be more inclined to use the system on a 'just in time' basis, i.e., when an exam or assignment deadline is approaching.
A one-sample t test is used to compare the mean, m, of a sample to a known number. The hypotheses for a single sample t-test are:
Ho: m = m0
Ha: m < > m0
(Where m0 denotes the hypothesized value to which you are comparing a population mean, in this case the mean value obtained by students in the particular examination question, m0 = 36.8%. (Report of the Chief Examiner for Chemistry, 1998))
This table gives the grades of the students, frequencies of those grades, percentage of those grades, valid percentage and cumulative percentage obtained by them in the Leaving Certificate Examination Question.
|
Grade |
Frequency |
Percent |
Valid Percent |
Cumulative Percent |
|
|
Valid |
.00 |
4 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
16.70 |
6 |
30.0 |
30.0 |
50.0 |
|
|
33.30 |
3 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
65.0 |
|
|
50.00 |
2 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
75.0 |
|
|
66.70 |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
80.0 |
|
|
83.30 |
3 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
95.0 |
|
|
100.00 |
1 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
100.0 |
|
|
Total |
20 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
This table displays the number of cases, mean value, standard deviation, and standard error for the test variable.
|
N |
Mean |
Std. Deviation |
Std. Error Mean |
|
|
Leaving Cert Question |
20 |
35.8350 |
32.10396 |
7.17866 |
Test statistic: The test statistic, t, has N-1 degrees of freedom, where N is the number of observations.
Results of the t-test: If the significance value associated with the t-test is small (usually set at p < 0.05), there is evidence to reject the null hypothesis in favour of the alternative. In other words, there is evidence that the mean is significantly different than the hypothesized value. If the significance value associated with the t-test is not small (sig > 0.05), as can be seen from the following table is the case here, there is not enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis, and the conclusion must be that there is evidence that the mean is not different from the hypothesized value.
|
Test Value = 36.8 |
||||||
|
t |
df |
Sig. (2-tailed) |
Mean Difference |
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference |
||
|
Lower |
Upper |
|||||
|
Leaving Cert. Question |
-.134 |
19 |
0.894 |
-.9650 |
-15.9901 |
14.0601 |
As this is an action research study I have grouped the findings under the heading of how the research improved the students' learning experiences and how the research improved my understanding of my own practice?
The course management system employed during this study does not pose significant usability problems to second level students of Transition Year age, and therefore usability is not a factor that would discourage usage of such a system, to its full potential, by such students. Evidence from both the usability testing sessions and the survey support this claim. Communication technologies are evolving rapidly and are shifting the grounds of possibilities for learner-information interaction. As the technology evolves, the interface to that technology becomes more user-friendly, which, in turn, is likely to increase participation in the new environments. Thus reluctance by students to use such a system needs to be explained in terms other than the user interface.
One discouraging factor identified in the study is the slow download rate of the system pages but this is mainly an issue of communications infrastructure and the provision of broadband access to consumers. Other possibilities for overcoming slow download rates could involve the hosting of such systems by education authorities or bodies such as the National Centre for Technology in Education. Indeed, hosting of such a course management system by such a body would probably be the most cost effective method as well as the most efficient method of introducing them to the Irish secondary sector.
The research findings drawn from the survey and interviews do indicate that the students considered the educational facilities that the system provided for them very favourably. They rated all of the system features highly, the features relating to assessment and grade checking scoring highest. They also reacted very positively to the suggested opportunities the system allowed to expand the learning community. This is in accordance with the learning styles the literature ascribes to female students and comes as no surprise. Most notable was the very positive response of the students to possible link-ups with third level, especially as that response was given shortly after Blackboard Courseinfo facilitated one such link-up. Also of note was the preference of the students to a mixed sex online community given the suggestions in some of the literature that such a community can be detrimental to the learning of girls. Perhaps this could be reflective of the anonymity offered by online rather than face-to-face interaction? The questionnaire did not anticipate this response and it would have been interesting to ascertain if the girls would also prefer that if day-to-day schooling were co-educational. This warrants further investigation particularly against the backdrop of the unusually highly segregated system that we have in this country.
The research has also shown that the system can facilitate successful link-ups between second and third level education for the promotion of science. In this enquiry such a link-up provided an authentic reason for using the communications features of the system to expand the learning environment beyond the walls of the school. There is no reason to believe that it would not prove equally successful in supporting the promotion of recruitment to SET courses by third-level institutions as recommended by the Task Force on the Physical Sciences. Third level links could also be used for supporting the introduction of different learning and teaching methodologies into the secondary system. Links to local industry, also recommended by the Task Force on the Physical Sciences, could be facilitated in this way too.
It has been clear throughout this research that the students were not entirely enthusiastic about the system. Voluntary adoption of such a course management system by female Irish second level students, in a manner that utilises the system to its full potential, especially its potential to facilitate both student-student and student-teacher communication, is not a simple and straightforward matter. Perhaps students need to develop greater group communicating skills in a classroom first, before they go online. An obvious impediment to the usage of such a system is the issue of access. Until such time as home Internet access is as commonplace as home telephone access it is unlikely that implementation of such systems, on any basis other than voluntary, will occur. Without the prerogative to oblige usage of the system an opportunity may be lost to enable students take more responsibility for the learning processes as members of a broader learning community.
Another possible reason, as shown by this study, for the students not fully adopting the system is that the actual geographical/physical edifice of second-level schooling in this country does not particularly lend itself to such systems. These systems are used mostly in larger third level institutions with student bodies often widely scattered and opportunities for communication often restricted by the scale of the educational operation. Second level education is generally of a smaller, more intimate scale, with greater opportunities for communication between students and teachers making the enhanced communications facilities somewhat superfluous. The students in this group had an established mode of communication, with both their peers and teacher, and they felt no real need to replace or upgrade this. The students, however, did comment that they would be more likely to use the system if they were in a high-pressure situation, say, doing their Leaving Certificate. I believe that the system would still be under utilised even in that situation by these students. Because of this I would suggest that attempts to incorporate course management systems into the education programmes of second level students might meet with more success if introduced to students at first year level. In making the transition from primary school education the students are already in the process of adapting to a much different regime and absorbing virtual learning environments at this stage, as just one of those changes, might be a lot easier. If they became accustomed to the sort of collaboration that such a system can facilitate at this earlier age, it might become second nature to them, and they may have no qualms about using it as they progress through the education system.
The enquiry was unable to demonstrate any definitive improvement in the learning of the students (one sample T test) as a consequence of employing the system. The results achieved in the leaving certificate question were as disappointing as those received by the Leaving Certificate cohort in that year. The chief examiners report states it was the least answered (20.3% of student attempting the question) and worst answered question on the paper with very few candidates getting the calculation right. The lack of evidence of improvement does not surprise me and I believe that such an improvement, if it occurred, would only be evident over a longer period. This would be an interesting area of further research and, if it could be done with first year students as they assimilate the system as a natural part of secondary education, I believe it would show clear positive learning results. If the students could learn to accept more responsibility for their own learning at an early age and to accept such electronic tools as extensions of themselves into a wider learning environment the evidence of positive impact should be easier to gather. Although the one sample T test showed no improvement in learning, the action research undertaken did show an improvement in the use of the learning tool, a tool that the students clearly acknowledged the educational benefits of, and thus, can be said to have provided a satisfactory answer to the question "how can I improve my practice?" The research also clearly showed that usage of the system could increase the appeal of the physical sciences for female second level student
Perhaps the best ways to determine the impact of any action research on teaching practice is to subject it to Winter's (1989) criteria of rigour as mentioned earlier. Thus I have attempted to evaluate my findings in accordance with the criteria outlined below.
The claims made in this enquiry are modest and result from my personal experience of trying to improve aspects of my teaching practice that I considered unsatisfactory. Questions and suggestions relating to the use of course management systems in secondary schools have distilled out of this enquiry through my personal experience incorporating such a system into my own practice.
Through stating my educational values and juxtaposing them with contradictory classroom practices I have attempted to resolve the conflict that existed between them in this enquiry. I learned what was necessary to shape a learning environment in a manner that reconciled the dialectical tension in my teaching.
Throughout the research period I have collaborated with others involved in education. Another chemistry teacher in the school provided constructive criticism during that time, as did teacher colleagues on this course. The validation meetings referred to earlier allowed me to take on board the viewpoints of others. These were viewpoints that would not necessarily have occurred to me and enabled me to make socially validated claims.
In this enquiry I exposed the inadequacies I felt existed in my teaching practice and I attempted to address them through proactive change. My teaching practice took forms heretofore untried in my classroom. These new forms I found difficult to adjust to and required changing the relationship with my students in attempting to get them to work. Trying to move from being the 'sage on the stage' to being the facilitator of the learning experience, especially with students you have already taught for three years, is a difficult task and one that I feel will take a considerable amount of time. Following this study I still feel like a rookie insofar as online teaching is concerned, but I do know considerably more about it than when I started the research process. I believe that other teachers suffer similar anxieties about the learning environment they create for their student and it is hoped that this research will prove helpful to them in addressing some of those anxieties.
Winter (1989) states, "theory and practice are not two distinct entities but two different and yet interdependent and complementary phases of the change process ? theory being based in practice, is itself transformed by the transformation of practice. Theory and practice do not therefore confront one another in mutual opposition; each is necessary to the other for continued vitality and development of both." Through consideration of the various educational theories explored for the purposes of this study, I have changed my practice in an effort to bring about improvement in the students' learning. This change in practice has enabled me, in turn, to develop my own personal theories, however modest, which can be shared with, and are open to challenge by colleagues in the teaching profession that, like me, are keen to employ these developing technologies for the benefit of their own teaching and their students learning. Theory and practice have complemented each other and each has comprised an indispensable part of the change process that occurred, a process of reflection and change that I hope to develop throughout my career. It is hoped that others can benefit from these changes and perhaps move this exciting new area forward.
Of course such a system is not only of interest to teachers of the physical sciences. Highly structured content in subjects such as chemistry may not be as amenable to an online student centred instructional style than more value-laden and debated subjects such as English literature or history. Increased interaction inevitably occurs in value-laden topics, particularly student-student interaction, and this is of great assistance in terms of coming to an understanding of the material. In hindsight the chemistry topic chosen for the students during this enquiry was the wrong one, and a less numeric topic with greater possibilities for discussion and the use of more media rich materials would have been more appropriate. In light of this I would suggest that this system could be of interest to the wider educational community.
Online instruction is more time intensive and requires more continuous attention. Students need timely feedback to their assignments and enquiries to help them refine their learning and provide guidance to the direction their learning is important so that they do not lose interest. Teachers' workloads would need to be re-evaluated before adopting this new educational tool in the education system. Ironically, the feature most highly rated by the students (online-grade checking) was the most troublesome and time consuming for the teacher to implement. This view is supported by the findings of the University lecturers in the findings of Ruman and Gillette (2001) as referred to in the research methods chapter.
The implementation of a course management system to augment traditional classroom teaching poses other significant difficulties for the teacher. New sets of skills need to be developed, including, how to create a welcoming and encouraging environment, how to model and encourage participation and establish norms of behaviour for users, how to monitor progress, arrange discussion groups and facilitate group processes and how to pace interaction and weave content with communication? These sorts of issues are difficult to measure but are very relevant to the success, or otherwise, of implementing online components to education. In this study I was employing such a system for the first time and evidently had poorly honed skills for the task at hand. Experience in employing these kinds of systems would undoubtedly result in more success. The learning has been worthwhile.
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