Constance P. Hargrave

Identification of Preservice Teachers’ Preconceptions about the Role of the Computer in Learning and Teaching

AbstractIn this study, preservice teachers’ preconceptions of the role of the computer in learning and teaching and the factors effecting those preconceptions were examined. During the 1997 fall semester, 279 preservice teachers in an introductory instructional technology course completed survey instruments designed to gather data about the subjects’ experiences with and attitudes toward computers in education, their beliefs about effective computer use, and epistemology. The results of the survey indicated that prior to receiving formal instruction about integrating computers into teaching and learning processes, preservice teachers possessed naive conceptions about how to use computers in the classroom. The results of this study can inform teacher educators and provide the opportunity to design and implement instruction that will help preservice teachers to develop more comprehensive conceptions of the role of the computer in the classroom.