Abstract:

This quasi-experimental study was designed to explore the potential impact of online instruction in a graduate course affects K-12 teachers’ attitudes towards technology integration in schools and learning performance in the United States. This study used a nonequivalent control group design. Nineteen participants in both the experimental group (online section) and control group (traditional section) were pretested and posttested with the Stages of Concerns (SoC) Questionnaire in the fall semester of 2003. Due to the unbalanced participants in the experimental and control groups, the nonparametric statistic procedure was used to examine the differences between two groups. The Mann-Whitney U test indicated a significant difference only existed in stage 2-personal stage in both raw score and percentile score between the online and traditional sections. That is, online instruction significantly promoted online learner’s concern only in stage 2-personal stage. No significant differences were found in other six stages of SoC questionnaire between the two groups. In addition, no significant differences were found in students’ final course grades between two groups. Implications for K-12 teacher education were proposed.

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