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Using Computers in theClassroom: A Problem forTeacher EducatorsWilliam S. Bush a & Paul Cobb ba University of Houston at Victoriab Purdue UniversityPublished online: 19 Jul 2012.

To cite this article: William S. Bush & Paul Cobb (1983) Using Computers inthe Classroom: A Problem for Teacher Educators, Action in Teacher Education,5:4, 9-14, DOI: 10.1080/01626620.1983.10519165

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01626620.1983.10519165

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Thisarticte deals with six cdurutionaluscsojcomputcrs, II ell cllllrag" .1 teacher education program sto inco rporate thrs« usesfor [aculty 1I1/d students alik e.

USING COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM: APROBLEM

FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS

INTRODUCTION

In this a rtic le it is arg ued tha t prcscr vice tea chers should be famil iar with the man yinst ruc tional uses o f co mputers . It is further arg ued that these teacher s must ex pe rience

the ins truc tio na l applica tions of co mpute rs fro m different per spect ives if they are to begi n

to appreciate both the poten tial and the limi tation s of comp uters fo r improvin g the qual ity

of ed ucation.Desp ite recom mend ati on s from profe ssional o rganizations . fede ra l age nc ies . and ed ­

ucators . the fu ll utilization of co mputers in c lassrooms wi ll depen d upon the cl assroo m

teac he rs themsel ves. Teache rs arc almost ce rta in to mak e an ex plicit o r taci t decisio n to

ign ore the new techno logy unless they ca n dr aw on past ex periences in work ing withco mputers. Ad ministra tor s . see ming ly unaware that many teachers have lim ited or non­existe nt ex periences with co mpute rs . ex pect them to pe rform tasks whi ch require them

to unlearn the trad ition al instruc tiona l techniques that they have obse rved or prac ticedfor years (Podc msk i. 1981 ). As these requ ests become mo re frequ en t wi th the increa sing

avai labi lity and cost-e ffec tive ness of co mputers . it becom es more cr uci a l that teacher

ed ucato rs pro vide their preservice teac hers with an ap propriate experientia l base .

Whi le the ado ption of the ne w tech no logy is desirabl e in that it o ffe rs the potent ia l to

impro ve the qu ality of educatio n . thi s po ten tial ca n be realized only by inte lligen t . cri tica l

imp lem en tat ion . Learn ing invol ves the stude nt's ac tive co nstruc tio n of know ledge . and

ther e need s to be an emphas is on usin g co mp uters to provide learners wi th ex per iences

whic h wi ll fac ilita te the ir qu est for meaning . In the co urse of suc h ex perie nces. learn er s

William S. Bush is Asxistum Pro fe ssor of Educa tion al the Uni ver sityof Houston at Vic tor ia . He teaches genera l me thods cou rses . ele me ntary

and secondary mathemat ics methods courses . and ma the ma tics co urses for

teachers . He rece ived his Doctor of Educa tion in Mathemat ics Educa tion

at the University of Georgia and his Maste rs of Art s degree in Education

fro m the University of Kentucky .

Paul Cobb taug ht high school mathem atics . sta tistics . and computing

co urses in Eng land for two years . He received his Ed .D. in math em at icseducation fro m the Univers ity of Georgia in I'iX3. Cu rre ntly . he is Assis tantProfessor of Educa tion at Purdue Universi ty . In add ition to his interest in

tea cher educa tion and com puting. he has pub lished in the areas of numerical

development o f yo ung child ren and methodology of research in ma the­

ma tics educa tion.

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might. for example. beco me aware of and attempt to overcome cont rad ictions in theirper sonal theo ries by reflecti ng on thei r ac tivi tie s . Or. the y might dr aw an analogy bet ween

tw o or more experiences and ge ne ra lize their ex isting knowledge . In any event. computers

ca n be used bo th to provide stude nts w ith a riche r varie ty of ex pe rie nces and to encourage

reflec tion .

COMPUTER USAGE

At present. the dominant edu cational usc of co mpute rs is to provide stude nts wit h dr ill

and pract ice . Wh ile th is usc is ce rta inly appropri ate in ce rta in c ircumstances . the dom ­

ina nce o f th is application sugg es ts that the pr imary goa l of education sh ould be to shapebehavior and to train students to g ive appropria te responses when presented with spe cificstimuli t i.e .. noti on s of Skinner and Thorndike) . Ho we ve r. if o ne ag rees with the view

that learning inv olves more than the assoc iatio n of speci fic stimuli wi th spe cif ic resp on ses .then. clearly . mo re than one ins truc tional applicati on of the co mpute r mus t be considered .

The e mp hasis shi fts fro m tra ini ng students to ha bituate responses to a lim ited ran ge of

stimuli to helping them co ns truc t meaning .

II'prcsc rv icc teach er s a rc to reali ze that ' ' what is easiest an d Ifinan ci all y l most profi tableto do is . by and large. not a t a ll what shou ld be do ne " (Licklide r. 1<)79 ). then they must

ex pe rie nce the va rie ty of instruc tional computer uses duri ng prc scrvicc pro gra ms. Further .th is reali zati on ca nnot be d irectl y trans m itted to pro spe cti ve teache rs; the y have to co n­stru ct it themse lves . The teach e r tra ine r ca n facilitate thi s construc tive process by en ­

co urag ing re flection on these experiences from the perspective o f both the stude nt and

the tea ch e r.

USING COMPUTERS IN TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

How ma y co mputers be utili zed best in pro viding preser vice teach er s w ith appropri ate

ex periences"! Hat field ( \<)XO) identified s ix educa tiona l uses of co mpute rs: practi cin g .

tutoring . s imula ting . test ing . managi ng . and pro gram mi ng . The recomm en dat ions andsugges tion> for full y utili zin g co mpute rs in tea ch er education programs at a ll leve ls wi ll

be based on these ca teg ories .

PracticingThese pro grams arc de sign ed to help students produce certa in be ha viors with g reate r

spee d and accurary . Such beh aviors include performing "paper and pencil " ca lculations .identi fyin g part s of speech . naming the pres iden ts . or listing the parts of a plan t. However .

they arc not des ign ed to fac ilitate the development of co ncepts whic h und erpin the

mean ing ful performan ce o f these beh avior s. Th us far. the pred ominant educa tio na l usc

of co mpute rs has bee n practi c ing . In fac t. practica lly a ll comme rc ia l co mpute r package s

desi gned for educationa l usc arc d rill and practice routines . T hese progra ms can have a

va riety o f applica tions in teache r ed uca tion pro grams . In content courses . instruc tors ma y

usc compute r pro gra ms to pro vid e practi ce for the ir prcse rvicc teachers . T hese prog ramscan als o be uti lize d in met hod s courses to enable them to pra c tice certa in skills . Us ingpract ice pro grams in these courses has an addition al ad vantage . The prcse rvicc teachers

ca n. by reflecting o n the ir pract ic ing ex pe rie nce s . de cide when . in gene ra l. it is and is

not appro priate to provid e stude nts with co mputer-assisted pract ice . Furthe r . they canbecome aw are o f and evalua te the types of co mme rcia lly-pro duce d pra cti ce program s

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which arc ava ilable for classroom usc . Thi s additional adva ntage of pro vidin g preserviceteachers with co mputer-ass isted instruc tion applies, of cour se , not ju st to practi ce programsbut to all educa tional uses of the co mputer.

TutoringThese program s differ from pract icin g programs in that they are designed to anticipate

and correct potential misconce ptions. usually by review ing prerequ isite co ncepts . Tutorialprograms can be most beneficial to teacher educators . Methods instru ctors have oftenenco untered prese rvice teachers whose under standing of the subject mailer to be taughtis minimal. A package of tutor ial program s can be used to help many of them improvetheir und erstand ing of di fficult co nce pts . Utilizing such packages allows instructors toconcentrate on methodology rather than co ntent . Instru ctors should diagnose the contentdeficiencies or wea knesses and prescr ibe appro priate tuto rial program s for their studentsrather than have them routinely inte ract with programs of their cho ice .

Tutorial program s can also assist preservice teachers in writin g lesson plans and co n­struct ing tests . Much time is usually spent in methods courses on these two topi cs . Whynot allow them to write lesson s and to co nstruc t tests with co mputer assis tance? Forlesson planning . co mputers may be programm ed by instru ctors to assist preser vice teachersin developin g lessons on spec ific topic s . The programs could address such concerns asstude nts ' current understanding of prerequi site knowl edge , degree of stude nt involvement,questionin g and probing . sequenc ing topi cs. types of examples . and anticipation of studentd ifficulties . In interactin g with such program s, preservi ce teach ers learn what co nstitutesgood and poo r lesson plan ing and what decisions are required during the planning stages.

Co mputer programs which tutor in test co nstruc tion wo uld be similar. Fac tors to beconsi de red include co mpetencies to be eva luated , levels of competence, types of items,intuitions concerni ng stude nts' ca pabilities, and scori ng . Th rough these intera cti ve pro­grams. they learn the pert inent factors invo lved in crea ting tests which fairly and acc uratelymeasure student knowl edge .

Sim ula t ingThese programs ca n offe r pro misi ng experiences for preservice teac hers . Simulating

programs. as the name implies, model phenom ena with which stude nts may interact. Incontent courses. these programs may be used to pro vide students with simulations ofsuc h phe nomena as the launch of a rocket, the rotatio n of a three-dimensional figure , thelife cycle of a mosqui to. or a pres ide ntial election. Interactin g with these simulations canprovide students with experie nces in which they can co nstruc t or generalize abstractconcepts . Sim ula ting programs used in this manner offer the same adva ntages as practicingprograms. Many of these programs arc available and can be obtained throu gh co mmercialpub lishers .

T hese simulating programs ca n be utili zed further by preservi ce teachers in their teach­ing roles . In microteachin g sessions during the ir methods co urses . preservice teachersca n be required to utili ze simulating programs and to incorporate them into their lesson swhen it is appropriate . If teacher educa tors have provided appropriate examples and theco mputer experiences have been successful, then the task should not be too difficult.

B.a . Smith ( 1969) strongly recommended that preservice teachers experience teachingsimulatio ns before entering the classroo m. Using computers in methods courses to simulateindiv idua l chi ldren. groups of children, or classes of children. can provide such expe­riences. T hese simulating programs place them in a classroom situation. present themwith a pro blem . and allow them to choose a so lutio n. If properl y construc ted, classroomsimulating program s can be both pragmatic and benefic ial. Preservi ce teachers may be

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placed in pse udo-cl assroom env ironme nts witho ut the incon ven ien ces invo lved in insert ingthem into sc hoo l cl assrooms or transport ing child ren to uni ver sit y ca mpuses . Add itiona lly .

prcservicc teachers wi ll have the oppo rtunity to reflect upon the ir dec isions . The pressureof maki ng im mediate classroom dec isio ns is absent and poor judg me nt wi ll harm no one .

Th ey will have the opportuni ty to ma ke errors with ou t se rious repe rcussions .

Tes ti ng and ManagingCompu ters can relieve teacher educators . as well as classroom teachers . of many of

the ma nagerial tasks that often burde n them . Th e support that co mp uters ca n provide inevalua ting prcscr vice teache rs is a lmost lim itless . Co mputers ca n be used to admi niste rtests to prcscr vice teachers . to create and ge ne rate ite m pools . and to grade tests . Ad­

di tio na lly. co mputers may serve as a gradc book to co mpile test sco res . as a cu mulative

folder to store stude nt records. and as an atte nda nce record er. Teacher educa to rs . byusing computers in these ca pac ities. ca n dem on strate to prcscrvice teacher s the man yma nageria l func tio ns o f these machines .

Programmi ngT he ex pe riences descri bed thus far pert a in to prcscrvicc teachers at a ll sc hoo l le vel s

and in all subjec t a reas . But in di scu ss ing pro gramming . one must make d istinction s .

Idea lly . a ll e lementary schoo l teach ers should he ca pable o f creating instru ct ion al program sfor thei r pupils . However . to expec t a ll of them to write computer progr am s would he

impracti cal. Th e curricula o f curre nt e lementary teach er ed uca tion programs have littleroo m for ex te ns ive trea tment o f co mpute r programm ing . Until changes arc made . ex ­

pe riences with co mpute rs wi ll have to he limit ed to those previou sly described . Howe ver.

in looki ng to the future . teacher educators sho uld deve lop and provide elect ive co urses

whi ch wi ll introd uce simple programm ing tech niques and furt her educa tiona l co mputer

use s to e leme ntary preservi ce teachers . A more viable alte rna tive is that s imple pro gram­

ming techn iques he introduce d into an ex isting sequence of co urses . for example . mat h­ema tics co nte nt co urses . and that s imple co mpute r ap plica tio ns he ass igned throu ghou t

the courses .

Howe ve r . all secondary sc hool teach er s shou ld he required to lea rn more so phis tica ted

co m puter program mi ng techniq ues . Si nce co mpute r science co urses are ge ne ra lly ho used

in math emati cs and sc ience de partme nts . a ll prcser vice tea chers in these fie lds sho uld

receive ex te nsive tra ining in co mputer programm ing . But programm ing sho uld not helearned in iso latio n. In pro gramm ing co urses . the emp hasi s should he placed on ed uca­

tional com puter applica tio ns. and in met hod s co urses. prcsc rv ice teachers sho uld have

the opportuni ty to use their own pro gra ms in teach ing situa tions. Prcscrvice seco nda ry

school teachers sho uld learn pro gr amm ing ea rly in the ir teacher ed ucation program s and

be e nco urage d to use this know led ge throu gh ou t the pro gram.

IMPLEMENTATION

To pro vide the va riety of co mpute r e xpe riences menti oned requires a conce rted and

coordi nated effo rt by educators . co ntent spec ia lists . and a ll per son s invo lved in tea cher

ed uca tion . Imp lement at ion will not he easy . Th e proposal s and sugg estions embod ied inthe prece di ng sec tions ca n best he viewed as a tent ati ve forecast of " Wher e we 'd like to

he in five yea rs . " Wh ile these pro posa ls are highl y spec ulative . so me co ns idera tion mu st

he g ive n to a plan for impl em ent at ion . Th e ass umption will he made that a program o f

th is type ca n be deve loped by a sing le inst ituti o n without ex ternal support . A furt herass umption is tha t the institut ion eithe r possesses or has access to all the desired hard ware .

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On ce the ins titution has made a co mmitme nt to at lea st exami ne the viabi lity of utilizing

information technology in prescr vicc co urses . an adv iso ry co mm ittee sho uld be or gan ized .

A wide spec tru m o f the ed uca tiona l co mmunity . incl ud ing for exampl e . facul ty members .di stri ct supe rv iso rs . and tea ch er s. som e o f who m ma y have expe rience d usin g the new

technology in educationa l se tt ing s . should be represen ted on this committee . All members

o f the co mm ittee should . of co urse . share the insti tution' s interes t in the matt er under

invest igati on. As inte res t docs no t necessa rily imp ly expert ise . the co mm ittee 's initi a lsess io ns wi ll tak e the for m of works ho ps in whic h a broad ran ge of technological appli­

cations should be experienced and di scussed . So me me mbers co uld demon st rate s imu­lati on pro grams to other members wh o could play students . In this wa y. members o f the

co mmittee ca n inc rease their und ersta nding of potential ed uca tiona l uses of co mpute rs .On ce th is init ial se lf-educationa l phase of the co mm iuccs work has been completed .

atte ntion ca n focu s o n evalua ting the potential and limit ati on s of each of the applications

exam ined fo r improv ing the quality o f educatio n. In addition to discu ssing the rele vant

issues. pert inent literature sho uld be analyzed in so me depth . On ce a co nse ns us is reached .

a progra m outlining planned uses of the co mpute r can be drawn up and the feas ibi lity ofimplcmcnrat ion co ns ide red .

Th e ne xt step co uld be to bot h wri te so ftware programs and acquire co mmercia lly

avai lab le software which fits wi th the planned uses . It may we ll pro ve to be efficie nt to

subd iv ide the comm ittee into worki ng gro ups . ea ch prim aril y co nce rne d w ith one broadaspect o f the tota l e nte rprise . O ne group co uld focus on software des igned to instruc t

sc hool pupils whil e a second could focus on so ftwa re designed to inst ruc t prc scrviccteach er s .

But who is go ing to instru ct the prescrvicc tea chers" Ho pefully . faculty members who

pa rtici pate in the co m mittee 's acti viti es will gai n suffi cient ex pe rt ise to en able them to

assume th is respon sibilit y . Further. if the pro gr am pro ves viable . they wi ll be able to

hold wor ks ho ps to train other faculty members and perhaps grad uate ass ista nts . Tea ch ersand superviso rs who have ser ved on the committee ma y well hold inscrvicc workshops

and thu s furth er dis se m inate the commi ttee 's recommendation s . T he co mm ittee 's work

could the refore benefi t loca l schoo l di stric ts immed iatel y .

CONCLUSION

Pro fess ion al associations and federal age ncies sugg es t that the applica tions of co mputers

by ed ucators can improve the qu alit y o f educati on . Howe ver. ac tua l adoption dependsupon the deci sion s of individu al teach ers . Tea ch er s mu st experien ce and inte ract wi th

co mputers if they a rc to bo th ado pt and intel ligen tly usc co mputers in the ir c lassroo ms .

Tea ch er educato rs can resp ond to thi s cha llenge by he lpi ng prcscrvice teach e rs acq ui re

an e xpe rientia l base upon which to ado pt and im plement dec isions . In par ticu lar. prcse rvice

teach e rs mus t e xperience the vario us ins tr uc tio nal applica tions o f co mputers from bothstude nt and tea ch e r per specti ves . Fai lure to co ntinua lly upd ate prcsc rvicc teacher edu­

catio n pro grams and keep pace wi th the advances in information techn ology wi ll . at best.

result in the squandering of an opport unit y to improve ed uca tion . At wo rst. it may res ultin the uncritical use o f computers in cl assrooms- a state of affairs which wou ld represe nta se tbac k in the o ffe ring of quality tea cher ed ucation .

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REFERENCES

I. Davis. R.M . " Evolution of Computers and Computing." Science. 1977 .195, 1096­11 02.

2. Hatfield . L.L. " Multi-usage Approaches to Computer-ex tended Instruction ." Paperpresented at the Symposium on the Use of Computers in Secondary Schools. Cul­lowhee . North Caro lina. April 1980 .

3. Licklider . J .C.R . " Impact of Information Technology on Education in Scie nce andTechnology. " InTechnology in Science Education: The Next Ten Years . Washington:National Science Foundation. 1979 .

4. Podcmski, R.S. "Computer Technology and Teacher Education." Journal of TeacherEducation, 1981, 32, 29-33 .

5. Smith. B.O. Teachers for the Real World . Washington: The American Associationof Colleges for Teacher Education. 1969 .

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