Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 26 Number 3

Edited by Dennis W. Spuck and William C. Bozeman

formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 26 Number 3 -- Spring 1994

Table of Contents

How Exemplary Computer-Using Teachers Differ From Other 

Teachers: Implications for Realizing the Potential of 

Computers in Schools

Henry Jay Becker                                          291



Facilitating Logo's Potential Using Teacher-Mediated Delivery

of Instruction: A Literature Review

Thomas E. Walsh, Jr.                                      322



Computer-Mediated Communication as a Teaching Tool: 

A Case Study

Donna R. Everett and Terence C. Ahern                     336



The Myers-Briggs Personality Type and Its Relationship 

to Computer Programming

Catherine Bishop-Clark and Daniel D. Wheeler              358



The Relationship Between Perceived Realism and the Cognitive 

Abilities of Children

Mark L. Merickel                                          371



The Emergence of the "Nerd": An Assessment of Children's 

Attitudes Toward Computer Technologies

Robertta H. Barba and Cheryl L. Mason                     382



Specificity Versus Nonspecificity of Cognitive Skills

in Elementary Computer Programming

John P. Charlton and Paul E. Birkett                      391



Charting Pathways of Conceptual Change in the Use of Computer 

Software: A Formative Analysis

Robin H. Kay                                              403



Collaborative Design in a Networked Multimedia Environment: 

Emerging Communication Patterns

Geri Gay and Maria Grosz-Ngate                            418



                      Abstracts



How Exemplary Computer-Using Teachers Differ From Other 

Teachers: Implications for Realizing the Potential of 

Computers in Schools;



Henry Jay Becker;

University of California, Irvine



Abstract

Using national survey data from 3rd- through 12th-grade 

teachers of academic subjects, 45 teachers out of 516 were 

identified as being exemplary computer-using teachers. Four 

factors in the teaching environment made exemplary computer 

users more likely to be present: collegiality among users, 

school support for using computers for consequential 

activities, resources allocated to staff development and 

computer coordination, and smaller class sizes. Also found 

were certain factors in teachers' backgrounds that were 

related to the probability of their being designated as 

exemplary users (e.g., if they were liberal arts majors 

rather than education majors) and showed that only among 

exemplary users were major changes in content coverage 

accomplished. The presence of exemplary users in a school did 

not result in fewer problems for administratorsÑjust 

different ones. Contrary to expectations, exemplary teachers 

were not overrepresented in high socioeconomic communities, 

nor did they disproportionately teach classes of high-ability 

students. 




Facilitating Logo's Potential Using Teacher-Mediated Delivery 

of Instruction: A Literature Review



Thomas E. Walsh, Jr.

Ames Community Schools, Ames, Iowa



Abstract

This literature review examines Logo's contribution in 

facilitating student learning and promoting problem-solving 

skills. The reported positive and negative effects for 

students using Logo are discussed. Research on Logo 

cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and transfer-skill 

learning effects are described, along with a discussion of 

research challenging those claims. Effective instructional 

practices using teacher-mediated delivery and support of 

instruction are also discussed. This review suggests that 

Logo instruction balancing carefully planned, teacher-

mediated lessons with student problem solving and planned 

independent Logo exploration will need to be provided to 

promote Logo's potential. 



Computer-Mediated Communication as a Teaching Tool: 

A Case Study



Donna R. Everett and Terence C. Ahern

Texas Tech University



Abstract

Today's students are encountering unconventional classrooms 

and methodologies and are being exposed to current and 

emerging technologies. Many of these technologies, such as 

networks, E-mail, telecommuting, online databases, and 

electronic bulletin boards, suggest that there is a need to 

prepare students and workers for human-to-machine interaction 

as well as for face-to-face communication. Additionally, the 

role of the teacher may take on more of the aspects of the 

"orchestra leader" than the "drum major" in order to 

coordinate the many electronic teaching tools that are 

available. The present study was undertaken to observe the 

effects of using computer-mediated communication (CMC) and 

appropriate groupware as a teaching tool. Effects on the 

students, the structure of the classroom, and interpersonal 

interactions were considered. Results indicate that the use 

of CMC can have a positive effect on students and 

interpersonal interaction, but that the implementation of 

this technology must be appropriately integrated into the 

instructional goals of the course. 



The Myers-Briggs Personality Type and Its Relationship 

to Computer Programming



Catherine Bishop-Clark

Miami University



Daniel D. Wheeler

University of Cincinnati



Abstract

This research investigated whether college students with 

certain personality types (as measured by the Myers-Briggs 

Type Indicator) performed better in an introductory 

programming class than students with the opposite personality 

types. A pilot study of 24 students and a follow-up study of 

114 college students taking an introductory programming class 

indicated that sensing students performed better on 

programming assignments than intuitive students, and that 

judging students achieved higher programming averages than 

perceptive students. Additionally, it was found that 

personality type influenced achievement in programming 

performance, but did not influence achievement on exams or 

overall average. 



The Relationship Between Perceived Realism and the 

Cognitive Abilities of Children 



Mark L. Merickel

Oregon State University



Abstract

This research explored the possibility of a relationship 

between perceived realism (i.e., the difference between 

virtual reality and computer workstation treatments) and 

various cognitive abilities of children. The abilities under 

investigation were visualization, displacement and 

transformation, creative thinking, and spatially related 

problem solving. Experiments were performed using 23 subjects 

between the ages of 8 and 11. Four cognitive-ability tests 

were administered to the subjects. The dependent variable, 

spatially related problem solving, was measured with the 

Differential Aptitude Test. The independent variables, 

visualization, displacement and transformation, and creative 

thinking, were measured by the Minnesota Paper Form Board 

Test, the Mental Rotation Test, and the Torrance Test of 

Creative Thinking, respectively. The results of the study 

indicated that spatially related problem solving abilities of 

children between the ages of 8 and 11 may be influenced by 

training in visualization and mental manipulation of two-

dimensional figures and displacement and transformation of 

mental images of three-dimensional objects. The evidence on 

the existence of a relationship between perceived realism and 

the ability of children to create, manipulate, and utilize 

mental images in solving spatially related problems is 

inconclusive at this time. 



The Emergence of the "Nerd": An Assessment of Children's 

Attitudes Toward Computer Technologies



Robertta H. Barba

University of New Mexico



Cheryl L. Mason

San Diego State University



Abstract

This study assessed the attitudes of elementary and secondary 

children (N = 5,971) toward computer technologies through the 

use of the Draw-A-Computer-User Test. Findings from this 

study indicate that children do not view technological 

careers as a mere extension of science but rather as the 

integration of computer technologies into existing careers. A 

stereotypical image of a "teenage nerd" emerged in the 

drawings of secondary students but not in elementary 

children's drawings. This negative stereotypical image of a 

computer user was defined by adolescents as being a person  

who: (a) is a teenage male, (b) parts his hair in the middle 

and/or wears slicked-down hair, (c) wears eyeglasses, (d) 

dons a pocket protector containing mechanical lead pencils, 

(e) dresses in trousers that don't meet shoe tops, and (f) 

wears oversized clothing. Additionally, drawings bearing this 

negative stereotypical image were typically labeled with the 

word "nerd" or the name "Urkle." In this study, a strong 

distinction between scientific and technological careers was 

observed in the drawings of younger subjects but not in the 

drawings of older students. 



Specificity Versus Nonspecificity of Cognitive Skills in 

Elementary Computer Programming



John P. Charlton and Paul E. Birkett

Bolton Institute of Higher Education, United Kingdom



Abstract

An attempt was made to verify the claim of Mayer, Dyck, and 

Vilberg (1986) to have differentiated between programming-

specific and nonprogramming-specific cognitive skills. 

Although this claim was not endorsed with respect to the 

relationships of such skills with overall BASIC programming 

performance, examination of relationships with three 

different aspects of programming performance (algorithm 

generation, program composition, and debugging) resulted in 

more favourable outcomes. These findings imply that when 

considering relationships between measures of cognitive 

ability and programming performance, it is important to 

consider different aspects of the programming process 

separately. Considering programming performance en masse 

leads to the dilution of the apparent importance of 

programming-specific skills, but not to the importance of 

nonspecific skills. Also discussed are the implications of 

the finding that spatial ability (or, perhaps more correctly, 

the ability to manipulate visuo-spatial images), a supposedly 

nonspecific skill, was also significantly related to each of 

the three programming skills. 





Charting Pathways of Conceptual Change in the Use of Computer 

Software: A Formative Analysis



Robin H. Kay

University of Toronto



Abstract

Researchers on computer ability have been largely influenced 

by the Galtonian perspective of intelligence assessment. This 

perspective involves a predominantly linear, construct-driven 

model based on identifying statistically determined factors. 

The use of this methodology, though, has far more to do with 

utility than theoretical rigour. Notably absent from this 

kind of approach is data on processÑhow a subject interacts 

with the computer. The following study looked at the process 

of knowledge acquisition in a computer-based environment. The 

6 subjects (2 males and 4 females) were videotaped while 

learning a new spreadsheet software package. A detailed 

examination of their think-aloud protocols is presented, 

along with an analysis of the role of previous experience, 

the use of metaphors, the effect of task interpretation, and 

use of terminology. The following findings are discussed: a) 

there was no clear relation between previous computer-related 

skills and the successful completion of spreadsheet learning 

tasks, b) the subjects actively attempted to learn by using a 

variety of metaphors, c) the subjects' task interpretations 

affected how they behaved and the kind of errors they made 

while learning, and d) the subjects' use of terminology was 

related to the degree of their understanding of new tasks. A 

process-oriented approach to examining computer ability, such 

as the one described in this study, can provide a rich source 

of theoretical and pedagogical information. 





Collaborative Design in a Networked Multimedia Environment: 

Emerging Communication Patterns



Geri Gay and Maria Grosz-Ngate

Cornell University



Abstract

This article focuses on the activities of students working on 

a collaborative design in a distributed multimedia 

environment. It examines how students at physically separate 

locations solved a design problem by using various 

communication channels, including audio, video, computer 

text, online resources, and face-to-face discussion. Analysis 

shows that video-audio was the preferred medium of intergroup 

communication. The number and direction of exchanges 

initiated varied from one group to another, and in-group 

dynamics made for the differential involvement of individual 

team members. The implications for further research are 

discussed. The article takes its theoretical inspiration from 

recent work in educational philosophy and learning theory 

which stresses that learning is a social and cultural process 

and that knowledge is constructed in interaction with others. 

A PDF file of each full article is available. Contact: jrte@iste.org. Please specifiy Volume and Issue number and article name.

Copyright © 1994, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.