Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 27 Number 2

Edited by Dennis W. Spuck and William C. Bozeman

formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 27 Number 2 -- Winter 1994-1995

Table of Contents

CAI, Lecture, and Student Learning Style:

The Differential Effects of Instructional Method

Don P. Ester                                             129



Changes in Computer Anxiety in a Required Computer Course

Paivi Hakkinen                                           141



Fear or Frustration?

StudentsÕ Attitudes Toward Computers and School

John A. King                                             154



Effects of Computer-Based Word Processing Versus Paper/Pencil

Activities on the Paragraph Construction of Elementary

Students With Learning Disabilities

John Langone, Cathy Willis, Michael Malone, Thomas Clees,

     and Mark Koorland                                   171



Differences in Computer Use of Practicing Versus

Preservice Teachers

Henryk R. Marcinkiewicz                                  184



Effects on Achievement of a Home/School Computer Project

Mark D. Miller and William D. McInerney                  198



Effects of an Introductory Versus a Content-Specific Computer

Course on Computer Anxiety and Stages of Concern

Richard C. Overbaugh and W. Michael Reed                 211



When Pens Are Passe: Students Reflect on Written Composition

Judy M. Parr                                             221



A Fundamental Methodology for Designing Management 

Information Systems for Schools

Adrie J. Visscher                                        231





Abstracts



CAI, Lecture, and Student Learning Style:

The Differential Effects of Instructional Method



D. P. Ester

Ball State University



Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of computer-assisted 

instruction and lecture approaches in the teaching of vocal 

anatomy and function to undergraduate music students with 

different learning styles. The subjects, 60 undergraduate 

students enrolled in choral ensembles at a large midwestern 

university, were assigned to treatment groups via 

stratification based on college GPA and learning style. All 

participants were pretested and categorized into learning 

styles by completing the Gregorc Style Delineator. The 

effects of the independent variables, teaching method and 

learning style, on the dependent variable, knowledge of vocal 

anatomy and function, were analyzed using a two-way analysis 

of covariance, with pretest scores serving as the covariate. 

Results revealed a significant interaction (p = .006) between 

instructional approach and student learning style. Abstract 

learners demonstrated significantly higher achievement with 

the lecture approach, while concrete learners performed 

equally well with the lecture and CAI instruction. 





Changes in Computer Anxiety in a Required Computer Course



P. Hakkinen

University of Joensuu



Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in 

computer anxiety, attitudes toward computers, and feelings 

related to computers among students after their participation 

in a basic course in computer science. The theoretical 

background is based on theories of human-computer 

interaction, test anxiety, and the resistance to change. The 

subjects were 29 education students in a basic computer 

science course at the University of Joensuu. They answered a 

questionnaire both at the beginning and end of the course. 

The results indicated that the computer science course 

reduced anxiety. Experience with computer equipment and the 

use of computers was also found to reduce anxiety. The course 

also had a positive effect on student attitudes toward new 

technology and on feelings related to computers. It reduced 

the fear of failure and the desire to escape. 




Fear or Frustration?

StudentsÕ Attitudes Toward Computers and School



J. A. King

James Cook University



Abstract

Three classes of seventh-grade students were exposed to 

microcomputers during a 9-month period as part of a 

government-sponsored electronic-learning project. Near the 

beginning of the project, interviews were conducted with 

students and teachers to ascertain their feelings toward 

computers. In addition, students were administered a 

computer-opinion survey from which a computer-anxiety index 

(CAIN) was derived, as well as a questionnaire about the 

quality of their school life. At the end of 9 months, the 

questionnaires were readministered and the teachers and 

selected students were again interviewed. Results from the 

computer-opinion surveys and from selected interviews 

revealed that factors other than computer anxiety explained 

an increase in CAIN scores. These included frustration 

related to lack of access, studentsÕ prior perception of 

computers as game devices, and teacher attitudes toward 

computer use. A significant interaction between gender and 

class group was also found. No identifiable effect of the 

presence of the computers on the quality of school life was 

discerned. 




Effects of Computer-Based Word Processing Versus Paper/Pencil

Activities on the Paragraph Construction of Elementary

Students With Learning Disabilities



J. Langone,

University of Georgia



C. Willis;

Madison County Schools



M. Malone;

University of Georgia



T. Clees;

University of Georgia



M. Koorland;

Florida State University



Abstract

This study used a repeated-measures, alternating-treatments 

design to compare student performance in constructing 

paragraphs under two experimental conditions: (a) using a 

computer-based word processor and (b) using paper and pencil. 

Analysis of the error rate for each student indicated varied 

improvements under both conditions for capitalization, 

spelling, punctuation, and complete sentences. Varied 

improvements under both conditions were also noted on the 

overall quality of the written products. All studentsÕ story 

lengths decreased under the computer-based experimental 

condition. Participants included six elementary students with 

learning disabilities. The implications for classroom 

instruction and further research are discussed. 




Differences in Computer Use of Practicing Versus

Preservice Teachers



H. R. Marcinkiewicz

University of South Dakota



Abstract;



This study compared levels of computer use by practicing 

teachers with expected levels of use by preservice teachers. 

The variables related to computer use were also measured. The 

levels of computer use of practicing (N = 170) and preservice 

(N = 167) elementary school teachers were first classified. 

The predictiveness of several personal variables to the use 

of available computers for teaching was then examined. 

Participants completed questionnaires that assessed level of 

computer use, self-competence in the use of computers, 

perceived relevance of computers to teaching, teacher locus 

of control, and innovativeness. Data on age, gender, and 

years of computer experience were also collected. Chi-square 

and logistic regression procedures were used to analyze the 

differences between the groupsÕ levels of use and 

relationships between teacher characteristics and computer 

use, respectively. About half of the practicing teachers 

reported not using computers for teaching. Almost all of the 

preservice teachers expected to use computers for teaching. 

Self-competence and innovativeness contributed to predicting 

practicing teachersÕ computer use, while perceived relevance 

contributed to preservice teachersÕ expected computer use. 

Correlation analysis indicated that self-competence and 

perceived relevance were highly related for both groups. The 

results suggest that these variables need to be considered 

when planning training intervention or differential staffing 

for reconciling teachers and their computer use. They also 

suggest the need to study the transition from undergraduate 

training to professional practice. 




Effects on Achievement of a Home/School Computer Project



M. D. Miller 

Tippecanoe School Corporation, Indiana



W. D. McInerney;

Purdue University



Abstract

This study investigated a home/school computer project and 

its effects on reading, language, and mathematics achievement 

for students after one year and two years in the project. The 

treatment group consisted of 142 fourth- and fifth-grade 

students, each of whom received a computer, printer, and 

telecommunications equipment for use in learning activities 

in their homes. The comparison group consisted of 147 fourth- 

and fifth-grade students at a different school in the same 

district. The data for the study were collected from the 

California Achievement Test and the Comprehensive Test of 

Basic Skills, 4th edition. The dependent variables were the 

changes in scale scores over the time period investigated in 

the study. The findings indicated that participation in the 

project was not associated with increased academic 

achievement. Therefore, educators should enter home/school 

computer projects with caution and realistic expectations. 




Effects of an Introductory Versus a Content-Specific Computer

Course on Computer Anxiety and Stages of Concern



R. C. Overbaugh 

Old Dominion University



W. M. Reed;

West Virginia University



Abstract

This study examined the comparative effects of an 

introductory computer course versus a content-specific 

computer course on student educatorsÕ computer anxieties and 

concerns. Computer anxiety was measured with a modified 

version of the Spielberger, OÕNeill, and DuncanÕs (1972) 

Self-Evaluation Instrument. The Stages of Concern instrument 

was used to track and compare changes in preservice and 

inservice teachersÕ concerns about computers through the 

seven stages normally experienced when teachers are 

introduced to new technology. Both groups reduced their 

computer anxiety. The introductory class experienced some 

significant shifts in their Stages of Concern but the 

content-specific class did not. 

When Pens Are Passe: Students Reflect on Written Composition



J. M. Parr

University of Auckland



Abstract

The theories writers build about writing are shaped, in part, 

by the tools writers use. This article examines the theories 

and practices writers develop when they use a personal 

computer for writing. The data reported on here were gathered 

during a year-long evaluation of a computer innovation in 

which 47 students (mean age, 13.5 years) and their teachers 

received personal computers for use in class and at home. 

Data were obtained from questionnaires, interviews, 

observations, and written work. The studentsÕ theories are 

considered in terms of the preferred medium for writing, 

writing quality, and writing behaviours. Preference for word 

processing was related to the ease and speed with which work 

could be produced. In terms of a theory of writing, speed 

aided generation and recording of ideas. Preference was also 

related to the facility with which text could be arranged and 

altered. These factors were seen to enable the production of 

better quality written work. Students were able to reflect on 

writing as shown by their ability both to identify the 

features of word processing that facilitate writing and to 

pinpoint changes in the way they went about composing in 

different mediums. 




A Fundamental Methodology for Designing Management 

Information Systems for Schools



A. J. Visscher

University of Twente, The Netherlands



Abstract

Computer-assisted school information systems (SISs) have been 

developed and used worldwide, but literature on strategies 

for their design and development is lacking. This situation 

should change because SIS quality and acceptance depends to a 

high degree on how the system is designed. Many of the 

strategies used have resulted in suboptimal SISs. This 

article presents the features of a fundamental approach to 

systems design that have been successful in the development 

of an SIS for secondary schools. The analysis and design 

results are discussed, and the merits and limitations of the 

strategy are evaluated. 

A PDF file of the each 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.