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Impact of information technology (IT) and constructivist learning tools on the learning of written English
Abstract
The objective of the research study was to determine whether the introduction of the IT-based writing activities in a contructivist classroom setting improves students' written English. The research involved students from three streams, namely the Express stream. Normal Academic [N(A)] steam and the Normal Technical [N(T)] stream. A total of 103 students from the secondary level were involved in this research study. 37 students were from the Express stream, 38 from the N(A) stream and 28 from the N (T) stream. The research was conducted using a survey data sheet (ASLAT), a questionnaire (SAIEL) and classroom observations. The research study was conducted in three stages :
(i) Pre-intervention stage (no IT-based writing tools were introduced)
(ii) Intervention stage I (IT-based writing tools were introduced with scaffolding)
(iii) Intervention stage II (IT-based writing tools with no scaffolding)
The findings of the study imply that using IT-based writing tools does not improve students' written English in the various grammar components. Improvement was also in the students' final written product. Within the three streams , the N (A) stream saw the greatest improvement . In addition to contributing to the improvement of the students' written English, the contructivist classroom setting has helped students to become independent learners.
(i) Pre-intervention stage (no IT-based writing tools were introduced)
(ii) Intervention stage I (IT-based writing tools were introduced with scaffolding)
(iii) Intervention stage II (IT-based writing tools with no scaffolding)
The findings of the study imply that using IT-based writing tools does not improve students' written English in the various grammar components. Improvement was also in the students' final written product. Within the three streams , the N (A) stream saw the greatest improvement . In addition to contributing to the improvement of the students' written English, the contructivist classroom setting has helped students to become independent learners.
Date Issued
1999
Call Number
PE1066 Div
Date Submitted
1999