Instructional Technology - Research Paper Example

Instructional Technology Summary of Instructional Problem It has come to my attention that many instructors develop the methods to use while giving instructions to students without understanding the needs their learners. Additionally, some instructors use instructing methods that worked for them without realizing that the needs of their student differ from their own. Most instructors have adopted use of instructional technology for teaching purposes. However, most first year college students particularly in sciences such as chemistry are incapable of following instructions provided using technologies such as PowerPoint. This makes the learning process hard for students. Among the most affected are chemistry students. Chemistry involves use of equations to represent reactions as well as mathematical representation of theories. When instructors use PowerPoint presentation to teach theoretical chemistry, most students end up not following. This results in poor grades amongst first year chemistry students. The focus of instructional technology should be making the learning process individualized. However, failure of instructors to understand their learners results in improper use of technology. This paper will analyze the problematic issue of instructional technology amongst first year chemistry students and how administration can intervene by ensuring instructors understand the needs of their students. Statement Goal This paper aims at creating a comprehensive report on problematic use of technology for teaching chemistry to first year students. While teaching, students within the same class will have different learning methods. It is thus important for instructors to understand the learners to design the instructional technology that suits them and enable them meet their IEP goals. Appropriate use of technology by instructors can only be achieved if the special needs of chemistry students are understood. Although it is almost impossible to obtain a single method that can be used for giving instruction for all the chemistry students, integrating different methods such power point presentation and other visual aids can enable instructors to meet the varying needs of the students. Data from previous years demonstrate that most students become used to technology-based instructions as they proceed to upper years. It is thus advisable for instructors to introduce technology-based instruction giving methods gradually. The different students have various learning styles with most of them being both visual and audio learners. Instructors should thus incorporate visual and audio aides while giving instructions. Requisite Knowledge and Skills In the recent past, use of technology has become rampant in colleges. After analyzing the entry behaviors of the students, it was clear that most chemistry students do not have apposite understanding of basic college chemistry. Most students had never learned through instructional technology and it was hard for them to follow when instructors use technology based presentation methods from the initial stages. After interviewing some first year chemistry students, it was clear that most instructors overlooked the individual needs of the students. However, it was clear that most students preferred the instructors to use power point presentation when processes being explained involved charts. However, chemical equations and mathematical representations presented using power point are poorly understood. Demographic Information Most students are not conversant with chemistry concepts while joining college. The chemistry taught in high school comprises of the basic concepts that are easy to understand. Additionally, most teachers use chalk and board to explain mathematical representation for the high school students. Therefore, most students join college with little knowledge on instructional technology. They find it hard to follow college chemistry concepts, which are often harder as compared to high school chemistry. Additionally, different students have different learning styles and speed, which makes it hard for instructors to use technology effectively. It is thus advisable that instructors understand the needs of the learners to design appropriate instruction giving methods. Learner Group Attitudes The factors to consider when analyzing the learners include the motivation and the differences in learning styles amongst chemistry students. Another factor affecting first year chemistry learners include prior experience or knowledge of the learners. The way learners interact with different learning environments differs and affects learning. After assessing prior knowledge on chemistry aspect, it was clear that most first year chemistry students lack understanding of basic concepts on chemistry. However, most instructors were unaware of this and started on various topics without accessing the level of knowledge of the students. Another aspect that the study assessed was the attitude of the students towards different concepts and instruction delivery methods. It was clear that the student had different learning methods. Most of them were visual learners and preferred use of diagrams and chart as instruction methodologies. However, most of the students have the notion that it is hard for them to understand equations when given using technologies such as power point. After assessing the motivation of the chemistry students, it was clear that the students are motivated by different factors. Such factors included the relevance they attributed to the topic, the level of confidence on the learners capability of understanding a given concept and the level of satisfaction the students associated with understanding a given concept. Additionally, the ease with which concepts are presented determines the level of motivation to learn chemistry. After assessing the learning preferences of the student, it was clear that most chemistry learners preferred use class discussion with the aid of instructors. It was clear that most chemistry tutors are mainly using instructional technology, which is still problematic for most students. Generally, there is great diversity in learning styles, motivations, altitude toward Chemistry, the delivery methods, entry behaviors, and prior knowledge to various topics. However, most students prefer it when technology based instruction methods are introduced gradually. Unique Characteristics of First Year Chemistry Students Among first year students learning Chemistry, most of them do not manage to follow instructions since the instructors design the teaching methods without understanding their learners. Chemistry is often a problematic subject for various students at the initial years in college. Most students lack knowledge on how to derive equations from theories. However, this changes with time. Use of technology to give instruction is an appropriate method but should be introduced gradually since most student join college with minimal understanding of how instructional technology works. Most instructors face challenges when instructing first year chemistry students who lack clear understanding of chemistry concepts. It becomes hard for such student to follow Power Point presentation, which is often used by instructors. This is because most of them are used to instructors who use chalk and board for teaching. However, this improves with time and most of them manage to attain considerable IEP by the time they join second year. Most students improve their chemistry results as the move to higher lever where they become used to various technology based instruction methods. Accommodations and Performance Context Technology is important since it makes teaching faster and easy. However, the instructors should ensure that the students are conversant with technology based instruction methods before using them in class. If done gradually, the first year chemistry students will eventually understand and appreciate technology base instructions. Additionally, if the instructors assess the level of understanding of the student on various topics and their attitude toward various topics, they will be able to devise appropriate instruction methods and incorporate them in their instructional technology scheme to suit the needs of diverse students. Understanding the needs of the students and addressing then adequately will enable instructors interact appropriately with the students and apply different instructing methods depending on the topics. The instructors should encourage the students to learn different chemistry concepts prior to presentations to ensure that they are able to follow in class. Additionally, administration should intervene and ensure that students are computer literate. This will make it easy for instructors since they can provide the notes to the students in PowerPoint form for easy learning. Read More