Issues, challenges and needs of student science teachers in using the Internet as a tool for teaching

Abstract

In recent years there has been a strong emphasis on the value of various applications of information and communication technology as tools to support teaching and learning. One tool that has been given prominence is the Internet and in order to attain Qualified Teacher Status in England, student teachers are required to demonstrate an ability to use remote databases, such as those provided through the Internet, to support their teaching. However, the experience of the collaborating researchers, working with student teachers in five different higher education institutions, suggests that use of the Internet remains limited. This research project sought to examine current attitudes and practice amongst student secondary science teachers. In particular, factors promoting or hindering the use of the Internet in the classroom were investigated, alongside views concerning what might constitute good pedagogy. The results indicate that most student teachers are making at least some use of the Internet and see its value in promoting learning. However, many issues arose in addition to those which were simply related to lack of resources or technical difficulties. Thus the disparate nature of the material on the Internet and a perception of limited information about effective pedagogy, coupled with a shortage of role models to demonstrate successful use, were also identified as important barriers to their development of effective use of the Internet. The implications of this for initial teacher education programmes are discussed and suggestions for development and further research outlined.

Trainee teachers’ use of the Internet – opportunities and challenges for initial teacher education

“…Findings from the ImpaCT2 enquiry (Harrison et al, 2002), supporting those of previous studies (for example, Cox & Johnson, 1993;Stevenson, 1998) and mirrored in the USA (Beck et al, 1999), reveal that many existing UK teachers have yet to develop confidence and competence in ICT and that relatively few are integrating the technology into their subject teaching in a way that enriches learning or stimulates higher level thinking and reasoning. Admittedly, as highlighted in responses from our own trainees (Twidle et al, 2006), this apparent lack of use may not be entirely due to an unwillingness on the part of teachers; other explanations could include a lack of suitable training or resources. In addition, using ICT requires 'the individual teacher to make changes in teaching strategies, scheduling, and allocation of time' (Norum, et al, 1999, p. 202).…”

“…Firstly, Selinger and Austin (2003) have reported the concerns expressed by a number of entrants to teacher training who lacked even rudimentary ICT skills. However, research into practice in a number of partnerships in England (Twidle et al, 2006) suggests that this may not be a major issue in all contexts, as most trainees in England arrive with quite good ICT skills and it is increasingly rare to find those who have not made some use of a variety of applications. However, there is still an issue of application within the teaching context.…”

“…Previous research (Twidle et al, 2006) examined the current practice of trainee science teachers, their perceived needs and their experience of using the Internet as a resource for teaching. Findings from this research indicated that trainees were in need of advice on both identifying suitable web-based resources and how to use such resources to support their teaching.…”

The Use of the Internet in Science Teaching: A longitudinal study of developments in use by student‐teachers in England

“…The statistical tests used were chosen in view of the non-parametric basis of the statistics gathered in the questionnaires. The Kruskal Wallis test allows for conclusions to be drawn about the overall trends, with Mann-Whitney, U, allowing for particular changes to be considered between particular years, where this might be considered Deleted: (Twidle et al, 2002) Tables 2 and 3 refer to items and significances over four years, Tables 4 and 5 As a general point arising from the data, it is worth noting that the Mann Whitney analysis showed that there were significant changes for some items from years one to two and two to three but no significant changes discernible for any of the areas between years three and four. As the ones that do change can be explored through the Kruskal Wallis tests, the Mann Whitney tables are omitted.…”

“…Deleted: (Twidle et al, 2002) • use of the Internet in many HEI partnership schools was fairly limited and there were few, if any, good role models in the schools;…”