COGNITIVE LOAD IMPOSED BY INTEGRATING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN A TEACHER EDUCATION COURSE Charoula Angeli (University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus,
[email protected]) Nicos Valanides (University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus,
[email protected]) Abstract Prospective teachers necessarily need formal training in integrating different technologies in the teaching-learning environment. In this paper, we report on findings regarding primary student teachers’ attitudes about the use of technology in education, their frequency of software use such as the Internet and Hyperstudio, and the extent to which the use of web-based tools, such as Filamentality, affected their perceived cognitive load. Three questionnaires were administered to 41 fourth-year primary student teachers to collect data. These students were divided into two intact groups formed during registration. At the beginning of the semester, students were given a short questionnaire to indicate how frequently they used the technologies of the Internet and Hyperstudio. Students were also administered a 15-item questionnaire measuring their attitudes towards ICT and its integration in the classroom. The cognitive load imposed by technology was measured with a questionnaire, at the end of the semester, in terms of: (a) the mental effort they exerted to learn Hyperstudio, (b) the mental effort they exerted to search the Internet and collect quality information for their projects, and (c) the mental effort they exerted to design instructional activities using Hyperstudio. One group was deliberately instructed and guided to use Filamentality, and organize the information collected in a Hotlist and a Scrapbook, while the other was not. The results of the study showed that the majority of students had favorable attitudes towards technology-enhanced instruction. In addition, there were initial differences in students’ frequency of using the Internet and Hyperstudio. An analysis of covariance on students’ perceived cognitive load was conducted with the variables of Internet and Hyperstudio use as covariates. The difference in cognitive load between the two groups was statistically significant, with F = 4.32, p < .05, after adjusting for the differences in frequency of Internet and Hyperstudio use. Only the Internet as covariant was found to be statistically significant with F = 4.75, p < .05. Both, familiarity with Internet and the cognitive tool of Filamentality can lower the perceived cognitive load. Clearly, the theory of cognitive load has important implications for the design of technology-enhanced learning environments. The issue of ICT integration cannot be sidestepped in educational reform efforts, and teacher educators should carefully investigate the contextual variables that accompany the integration of ICT. Aims and Significance As we evolve deeper in the information age, learners and future citizens need more skills for complex cognitive tasks, but they also need support to develop a wider range of types of learning, such as emotional development, character development, and spiritual development. In the traditional paradigm of instruction, the focus was almost exclusively on the cognitive domain and within that domain the emphasis was on dissemination of information. Information and communication technology and information-age roles have made these kinds of learning less important. Higher levels of learning are continuously becoming more and more important and necessary for functioning in a modern society that is totally dominated by science and technology. In addition, interest in student-centered learning coupled with
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technological developments, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), have initiated a shift in instructional paradigm in ways that were previously infeasible or unimaginable. The new paradigm requires a shift from passive to active learning making it necessary to take full advantage of instructional technology, remote resources (e.g., those available through the Internet), and local real-world resources (e.g., science museums, practitioners, etc.). Instruction is thus defined as anything facilitating learners to build their own knowledge as opposed to (or in addition to) a process of merely conveying information to learners. There is thus an urgent need that must allow not only for customization of the learning experience, but also for systematic integration of ICT at all levels of education. Integrating technology in higher education is an issue, which according to the 1998 National Survey of Information Technology in Higher Education, looms as the single most important issue confronting universities (Green, 1998). Nonetheless, it is documented that universities, thus far, have not made any real progress toward achieving technology integration in their programs since most university faculty do not use technology in any systematic way to enhance their curriculum and instructional practices (Caffarella & Zinn, 1999). As Massy and Zemsky (1995) state, most technology integration efforts at the university level have been directed toward using technology as a productivity tool or as a delivery vehicle to support existing practices. Specifically, university professors use the computer to (a) electronically process documents, (b) post information on the Internet for their students to access, and (c) exchange messages with students via email or listservs. It is a rare occasion to find a faculty member who uses the computer as a cognitive tool to cultivate learners’ thinking and support their knowledge construction activities. Attempts to integrate ICT in the teaching-learning environment are thus quite necessary especially for education departments. Prospective teachers should not only be acquainted with the capabilities of ICT, but they should have formal training about how to take advantage of different information search tools and knowledge construction tools that can easily be employed in the teaching-learning environment. Carefully designed studies should also be conducted in order to investigate different contextual constraints in integrating ICT in the classroom environment. If technology is to be effectively integrated in the classroom, then teacher educators should provide prospective teachers with the knowledge, the skills, and the confidence required to use the tools of ICT available to them. The training of preservice teachers will be pivotal in determining the future role of technology in education (Byrum & Cashman, 1993). Within the context of tertiary education, we undertook efforts to integrate ICT in a fourthyear science education course for primary student teachers. In this study, we approached technology integration in higher education from a cognitive perspective to scaffold students’ thinking and understandings. Three decisions guided our technology integration plan. First, we decided that it was important to work with affordable technologies our students could find and use in the elementary schools of Cyprus. Second, we decided to utilize the vast amount of up-to-date information found on the World Wide Web (WWW) and guide our learners to intentionally search and locate information related to the elementary science curriculum in Cyprus. Lastly, students were asked to use the information found on the web and design instructional activities using Hyperstudio, a hypermedia knowledge-construction tool. The study we describe in this paper reports on findings about students’ attitudes, when they attempted to integrate ICT in their teaching lessons, and the extent to which the use of webbased tools, such as Filamentality, affected students´ perceived cognitive load. Students’
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frequency of using the Internet and Hyperstudio were also measured and taken into consideration. However, this study is part of a larger research study, which includes the integration of an electronic communication system for the purpose of promoting students’ conceptual understanding of science concepts included in the elementary science curriculum. The effects of the communication system on students’ conceptual development as well as their conceptual progress in understanding science, as it was manifested through the instructional design of various in-class learning activities, will be treated elsewhere. Cognitive Load Imposed by Technology Integration We regard the concept of cognitive load highly relevant and important to the task of integrating technology in an educational context. Cognitive load is the amount of mental energy imposed on working memory at an instance in time (Cooper, 1990). Cognitive load theory views the limitations of working memory to be an impediment to learning and attempts to improve the quality of instructional design by considering the role of and limitation of working memory (Sweller, 1994). Accordingly, instructional activities or materials can impose two types of cognitive load on learners’ working memory, namely, intrinsic and extraneous. Intrinsic cognitive load is directly related to the difficulty of the content to be learned and cannot be modified by instructional design. On the contrary, extraneous cognitive load is caused by the characteristics of the instruction or the way an activity is organized and presented to the learners and it is much easier to influence. If the total amount of cognitive load exceeds learners’ mental resources then learning will be impeded. When the intrinsic cognitive load is high and the extraneous cognitive load is high, then our efforts should be directed toward instructional design manipulations for lowering extraneous cognitive load so that the resulting total cognitive load falls to a level within the bounds of learners’ mental resources. Any attempt to eliminate or limit the sources of extraneous cognitive load contributes to more efficient and effective instruction. When technology is integrated in a course, there is an additional cognitive load related to technology and its integration in the teaching-learning environment. This additional load is caused by the technological tools to-be-learned (intrinsic cognitive load), and by the way these tools will be integrated in the instruction (extraneous cognitive load). If learners are not experienced users of technology, novices in other words, then technology integration will make considerable demands on learners´ cognitive processing activities. In this study, we intended to manage the amount of cognitive load by integrating (or not integrating) cognitive tools in the learning environment for management of the extraneous cognitive load related to technology that may adversely affect their processing capacity. We do not argue that these tools will make the task easier, but we do argue that these tools may help learners organize their thinking processes more efficiently and effectively. The bottom line seems to clearly suggest that any decrease in cognitive load increases the portion of working memory that is available to attend to the learning process, taking into consideration that working memory is extremely limited in both capacity and duration. The Computer as a Cognitive Tool Cognitive tools or mindtools (Jonassen, 2000) engage learners in meaningful thinking to analyze, critically think about the content they are studying, and organize and represent what they know. Mindtools include various computer-based applications, which can be learned in a relatively short amount of time, such as databases, spreadsheets, information search engines, hypermedia construction tools, and others. Here, for the purposes of the current
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study, we focus only on the two types of tools, namely, intentional information search tools and knowledge construction tools that were employed in the present study. Information Search Tools Undoubtedly, the WWW has so many interesting topics to explore that it is easy for learners to loose awareness of where they are in hyperspace and what links they followed to get there. Moreover, for learning purposes a bigger problem is that learners may feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of information found on the web and thus fail to integrate and synthesize new information with their existing knowledge. According to Jonassen (2000), the educational secret to the Internet is intentionality. The argument is that if learners have a clear purpose in mind, an intention, they will most likely stay focused and construct ways to locate and retrieve only the information needed to fulfill the intention or the goal they have in mind. A popular tool for intentional searching is a search engine. A search engine is considered a mindtool, because it triggers reflective thinking as learners must constantly reflect and assess the quality of the information located as well as the merit of the information found for constructing and representing ideas. Moreover, web-based tools such as Filamentality [www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil] help manage the load that is caused by searching the web by enabling a learner to create a web page to record the results of a search and thereafter to use these resources to create instructional activities, such as a Hotlist and a Scrapbook. A Hotlist is a list of links to text-based materials for a topic organized meaningfully into categories. A Scrapbook is a list of links to a variety of media such as images, sound, video clips, and virtual reality tours as these relate to a topic. Learners can use a Hotlist to read about a topic and thereafter a Scrapbook to explore aspects of the topic they feel are important. The resources found in a Hotlist and a Multimedia Scrapbook can be downloaded into a Hyperstudio stack and manipulated accordingly by the learner. Knowledge construction tools Knowledge construction tools, such as hypermedia, are tools that actively engage learners in designing and creating representations of knowledge, as they understand it, and not as the teacher understands it. Hyperstudio is a well-known hypermedia-authoring tool that is widely used by teachers and students to communicate ideas in visual form by bringing together text, sound, graphics, and video. From a theoretical perspective, hypermedia authoring follows the tenets of Papert’s (1990) constructionism, which asserts that the learner must build knowledge. According to Perkins (1986), the rationale for constructionism is knowledge as design, which affirms that learners should become designers of instructional materials and artifacts, and not interpreters of facts and information given by a teacher. Methodology The Context of the Study The study took place in a teacher education department in the fall of 2001. Forty-one undergraduate student teachers, enrolled in a fourth-year science education course, participated in the study. The course was designed around two major objectives: (a) to teach students about current trends in science teaching, and (b) to capitalize on the interrelationships among science, technology, and society. The instructor of the course wanted students to understand science in terms of their real life and not as inert knowledge in the form of isolated facts and information. Over the course of the semester, there were 13 two-hour lectures, and 13 90-minute laboratory meetings. For the lectures, all students met 4
as a group, whereas for laboratory work students were divided into two groups. These two groups were intact groups formed during registration without any involvement from the instructor of the course. Laboratory work included experiments and technology training. There were five 90-minute technology workshops for each group devoted to technology integration, and were scheduled at times students felt they needed the training. Procedures The authors, first, identified 100 web sites that were related to science and technology literacy appropriate for elementary education, and, then, evaluated randomly 50 of them based on multiple criteria, such as (a) accuracy, (b) depth, (c) breath, and (d) relevance to students’ lives. The list with the web sites, the evaluation criteria, and the evaluation outcomes were communicated to students via a web site. Each participant had to (a) select a different topic from the elementary science curriculum, (b) identify and evaluate web sites suitable for teaching this topic, and (c) develop an technology-enhanced 80-minute lesson, for ages 7-12, to be taught in a real classroom setting in conjunction with other planned activities. Students were guided to design their lessons based on principles of learning theories that place the learner at the center of the learning process as the constructor of knowledge. Students were also instructed to integrate into their lessons Hyperstudio, an easy to learn application by both teachers and students. As mentioned above, each group had five technology integration training sessions. Two kinds of training sessions for each group were administered: (a) Hyperstudio Training and (b) Internet Training. Even though students were familiar with both Hyperstudio and Internet they asked for the extra training. Therefore, each group of students had three workshops about Hyperstudio and its added value in the teaching and learning process, and two workshops about the Internet. Internet training differed between the two groups. The first group learned about how to employ different strategies to effectively search the WWW as well as which engines were most appropriate for locating different kinds of information such as images, video clips, sounds, animations, etc. The second group had the same basic Internet training that students in the first group had, with the difference that they also learned how to organize the results of their searches using the tool of Filamentality. Specifically, each student in the second group created a Hotlist and a Scrapbook, using Filamentality. Students were expected to use the information collected in their Hotlists and Scrapbooks to design their lessons using Hyperstudio and other in-class activities. Instruments Three questionnaires were used to collect data. At the beginning of the semester, students were given a short questionnaire to indicate how frequently they used the technologies of the Internet and Hyperstudio. A Likert scale from 1 to 5 (never, rarely, sometimes, often, very often) was used for this measurement. Students were also administered another questionnaire measuring their attitudes towards ICT and its integration in the classroom. This questionnaire included 15 Likert-type questions from 1 to 5 (disagree a lot, disagree, neutral, agree, agree a lot). At the end of the semester, students were given a questionnaire to measure their perceived cognitive load. A Likert scale from 1 to 5 (very small mental effort, small mental effort, neither small nor large mental effort, large mental effort, very large mental effort) was also used for this measurement. There were two forms of this questionnaire, one for each group. The cognitive load imposed by the technology for the first group of students was measured in terms of: (a) the mental effort they exerted to learn Hyperstudio, (b) the mental effort they exerted to search the Internet and collect quality information for their projects, and 5
(c) the mental effort they exerted to design instructional activities using Hyperstudio. Similarly, the cognitive load imposed by the technology for the second group of students was measured in terms of: (a) the mental effort they exerted to learn Hyperstudio, (b) the mental effort they exerted to use Filamentality for searching WWW and organizing the information collected in a Hotlist and a Scrapbook, and (c) the mental effort they exerted to design instructional activities using Hyperstudio. Thus, the difference between the two groups was that the second group was deliberately instructed, and guided to use Filamentality and organize the information collected in a Hotlist and a Scrapbook, while the first group was not. Results and Discussion Table 1 shows the frequencies of students’ responses to the 15-item attitude questionnaire. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of their responses to the attitude questionnaire, and the results were collapsed over the two groups. Table 1 Students’ Initial Attitudes about Technology (n=41)
Item I feel comfortable learning the new technologies Using the computer constitutes a skill that students must learn The computer imposes stress on me because if anything goes wrong I would know what to do I feel comfortable with my abilities to be able to learn how to use the computer The use of computers in education makes me skeptical The use of computers in education makes me enthusiastic The use of computers in education interests me The use of computers in education scares me Computers confuse me I don’t think computers will be valuable in my profession I enjoy learning how to use the new technologies The integration of computers in my teaching will result in more work for me I believe computers will change the way I teach I believe computers will influence how my students learn Whatever the computer can do I can do it equally well with another way
Disagree a lot %
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
%
%
%
Agree a lot %
2.4
9.8
9.8
39.0
39.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
17.1
82.9
19.5
53.7
12.2
9.8
4.9
2.4
9.8
4.9
58.5
24.4
9.8
24.4
9.8
46.3
9.8
0.0 0.0 26.8 34.1
2.4 2.4 41.5 48.8
7.3 0.0 14.6 7.3
53.7 51.2 14.6 9.8
36.6 46.3 2.4 0.0
82.9
14.6
0.0
0.0
2.4
0.0
2.4
12.2
39.0
46.3
0.0
9.8
14.6
56.1
19.5
0.0
2.4
9.8
56.1
31.7
0.0
2.4
2.4
53.7
41.5
7.3
68.3
22.0
2.4
0.0
The overwhelming majority of students felt the need for employing new technologies in the learning environment, felt enough confident in learning how to use new technologies, were rather enthusiastic to learn how to integrate the computer in their teaching, clearly understood that technology has the power to change the teaching and learning environment, and were not
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hesitant about the value of computer-enhanced instruction in learning, although there was some skepticism expressed related to using new technologies in education. Therefore, there was overall, a positive attitude and a positive momentum towards technology integration at the beginning of the study, and no resistance from the participants. Table 2 shows descriptive statistics about how often students were using the technologies of Hyperstudio and Internet prior to the study, and Table 3 shows descriptive statistics about students´ perceived cognitive load when they used these tools to carry out an instructional design task. Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for Students´ Frequency of Software Use (n=41) Group 1 2 1 2
Internet Hyperstudio
M 4.48 4.85 2.29 2.70
SD 0.75 0.37 0.64 0.57
n 21 20 21 20
Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Students´ Perceived Cognitive Load (n=41) Group 1 2 Total
M 10.00 8.55 9.30
SD 1.70 1.23 1.65
n 21 20 41
Students in the second group were using more often both the Internet and Hyperstudio, while the first group reported a higher amount of cognitive load than students in the second group did. To control for initial differences in the use of software, an analysis of covariance on students’ perceived cognitive load was performed, where use of Internet and use of Hyperstudio were both used as covariates. The results of the analysis of covariance are shown in Table 4. Table 4 Analysis of Covariance on Students´ Perceived Cognitive Load (n=41) Source of variation Intercept Use of Internet Use of Hyperstudio Intervention Error
SS 118.87 9.30 1.60 8.45 72.42
df 1 1 1 1 37
MS 118.87 9.30 1.60 8.45 1.96
F 60.73 4.75 0.82 4.32
Signif. .00 .036* .37 .045*
*Statistically significant at p
