Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools

The major purpose of this study was to determine what associations exist between student Internet usage in secondary science classrooms and the way students perceive their classroom environment. A second purpose was to study how the Internet was used in each classroom involved and to see what effect...

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Main Author: Churach, Daniel N.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Curtin University 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/977
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author Churach, Daniel N.
author_facet Churach, Daniel N.
author_sort Churach, Daniel N.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The major purpose of this study was to determine what associations exist between student Internet usage in secondary science classrooms and the way students perceive their classroom environment. A second purpose was to study how the Internet was used in each classroom involved and to see what effects these various approaches had on classroom environments. The study included a sample of 431 students in five Hawaii Catholic high schools and data were collected using site observations, student-teacher interviews, and a questionnaire using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey, a student attitude towards science scale, and Internet usage questions. Site observations were carried out periodically over an academic year, with a high degree of communication between the sample teachers and the author.Some three dozen students representing all five high schools were interviewed in depth in an attempt to qualitatively clarify the quantitative findings of the total sample. The results of the study indicate that there is an association between greater student Internet usage and a positive perception of classroom environment. Additionally, the students in this sample express an almost total acceptance of the Internet as an educational resource. Student interview data suggest that this new technology has moved past the innovative stage and into the mainstream of daily educational routine. It seems that student attitudes, as well as individual feelings of self-control and personal relevance seem to be enhanced by the use of the Internet, allowing students to construct unique meaning on a personal level. Finally, there is a high association between student Internet usage and teacher Internet usage, that is, the attitude and behaviour of individual teachers concerning their Internet usage has an influence on the extent to which their students use the Internet for academic purposes.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-9772017-02-20T06:42:17Z Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools Churach, Daniel N. classroom environment Hawaii Catholic high schools internet usage The major purpose of this study was to determine what associations exist between student Internet usage in secondary science classrooms and the way students perceive their classroom environment. A second purpose was to study how the Internet was used in each classroom involved and to see what effects these various approaches had on classroom environments. The study included a sample of 431 students in five Hawaii Catholic high schools and data were collected using site observations, student-teacher interviews, and a questionnaire using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey, a student attitude towards science scale, and Internet usage questions. Site observations were carried out periodically over an academic year, with a high degree of communication between the sample teachers and the author.Some three dozen students representing all five high schools were interviewed in depth in an attempt to qualitatively clarify the quantitative findings of the total sample. The results of the study indicate that there is an association between greater student Internet usage and a positive perception of classroom environment. Additionally, the students in this sample express an almost total acceptance of the Internet as an educational resource. Student interview data suggest that this new technology has moved past the innovative stage and into the mainstream of daily educational routine. It seems that student attitudes, as well as individual feelings of self-control and personal relevance seem to be enhanced by the use of the Internet, allowing students to construct unique meaning on a personal level. Finally, there is a high association between student Internet usage and teacher Internet usage, that is, the attitude and behaviour of individual teachers concerning their Internet usage has an influence on the extent to which their students use the Internet for academic purposes. 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/977 en Curtin University fulltext
spellingShingle classroom environment
Hawaii
Catholic high schools
internet usage
Churach, Daniel N.
Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title_full Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title_fullStr Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title_full_unstemmed Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title_short Internet Usage in Science Classrooms in Hawaii Catholic High Schools
title_sort internet usage in science classrooms in hawaii catholic high schools
topic classroom environment
Hawaii
Catholic high schools
internet usage
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/977