Pre-service teachers' perceptions of a student-centered approach for integrating technology in content areas
Abstract
This research study investigated 2 concerns. First, with what technology skills did pre- service teachers enter the technology applications course? The self-reported technology skills knowledge mean gain scores increased on all of the 10 subscales of the Technology Questionnaire. Secondly, what did pre-service teachers perceive their roles to be in the classroom without computer use compared to the classroom within a computer environment? The study results showed no significant difference in mean gain scores between preservice teachers' perceptions of teacher-centered roles and their perceptions of student-centered roles in classrooms without computers. There was a significant difference for student-centeredness in environments using computers. The expectation was for there to be a shift in perspective back to teacher-centeredness when asked for choice of computer uses. However, when asked to report on their choice of computer uses in classrooms using computers, preservice teachers maintained their student-centeredness approaches. The preservice teachers would more likely use the computer as a student-centered tool after instruction in a learner-centered technology integration class.