A Comparison of Mobile Technology and Traditional Laboratory Instruction in a Science College Classroom: A Mixed Methods Investigation
Concurrent Session 8
Brief Abstract
This session will discuss results of a mixed methods study that investigated use of the PocketLab mobile technology in a physics laboratory classroom. Undergraduate students enrolled in physics lab courses participated in the study by answering pre and post surveys and completing summative assessment.
Presenters
Extended Abstract
According to research, mobile technology supports both traditional teaching as well as innovative teaching methods (Lan, Sung & Chang, 2007; Roschelle et al., 2010), exploratory student-centered learning outside of the classroom (Lin, Lin, Tsai & Paas, 2012) and game-based learning (Klopfer, Sheldon, Perry & Chen, 2012). Mobile technologies promote innovative educational techniques and strategies to facilitate higher-order thinking skills, problem solving and content subject matter knowledge. Research shows that mobile learning can facilitate life-long learning. According to Frohberg (2006) mobile technology allows for more flexibility, spontaneity and ad hoc adaptability, which benefits learners with different learning styles and processing abilities. Research has been done on a variety of mobile technologies in the classroom, however limited research exists on the effects of PocketLab technology in the science classroom. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the effects of the PocketLab technology and the effects of it on student learning and experience in the classroom. The research questions guiding the study include: What are the differences between students’ achievement in the pocket lab classroom and traditional laboratory classroom? What are students’ experiences in both classrooms? What are students’ attitudes towards the use of PocketLab instruction in the science classroom? What are students’ preferences towards using PocketLab to learn in the science classroom? How do quantitative and qualitative data converge? How and why? Undergraduate students enrolled in the physics laboratory class participated in the study. PocketLab is a wireless sensing and analytics platform for science experiments. It is a small scientific measurement device that allows students to record multiple types of data and can be attached to various items such as wheels, mini rockets etc. to conduct experiments and collect scientific data.
Participation in the study involved taking a brief 5 minutes pre-survey, participating in the lab course instruction, taking achievement test at the end and completing attitudinal post-survey about experience with the type instruction which students experienced. A total of 34 students participated in the traditional laboratory instruction. The second class of students included N=30 students in total and experienced physics lab using Pocket Lab mobile technology. Participants in the traditional laboratory classroom included 25 % male and 75 % female students, whereas experimental Pocket Lab classroom consisted of 45 % male and 56 % female students with female students being a majority in both classrooms. Participants in both groups ranged from 18 to 22 and over in age. Participants in both groups included predominantly juniors and seniors. Students were majoring in biology and health & exercise sciences. The majority of the participants did not have any previous experience with PocketLab mobile technology.
Data was analyzed and the following results revealed that students in both groups had comparable beliefs about instructional approach for learning physics that they experienced. Students in both groups found instructional approach used to learn physics in the lab beneficial for their learning. For example, students in the control group that experienced traditional type of instruction and students in the experimental group who experienced Pocket Lab approach tended to agree that their lab experience was beneficial when learning physics with 88.23 % of agreeing in the experimental group and 86.66% in the control group. Similarly, both groups tended to believe that the approach that they experienced supported their learning of physics concepts with 88.23 % agreeing in the control group and 83.33 % agreeing in the experimental group. Both groups tended to agree that the learning experience was enjoyable with students who experiences traditional type of instruction tending to have less favorable beliefs ( 67.62 % agreed) about their experience in comparison with students who experiences Pocket Lab type of instruction (76.66 % agreed).When it comes to motivation to learn physics using an approach used, even though both groups tended to agree the percentages were lower than for other items with 61.77 % agreeing in the control group and 56.66 % in the experimental group. Students who experienced PocketLab instruction believed that it allowed for flexibility 93.33 % whereas students in the traditional type of instruction were less convinced that it allowed for flexibility ( 55.89 %). Similarly, more students in the experimental group believed that experiencing this type of instruction allowed them to connect physics concepts to the real world (93.33 %), whereas less students in the control group had similar opinion (70.59 %). Although both groups tended to describe their experiences as positive, more students ( 90 %) who experienced Pocket Lab instruction agreed that their experience was positive versus 70.59 % of students who experienced traditional type of instruction. After experiencing instruction via respected approaches, 66.67 % of students who experienced Pocket Lab approach indicated that they would recommend to use it in the future versus 32.36 % of students in the group that experienced traditional approach indicated that they would recommend it in the future. It is interesting that more students ( 88. 23 %) in the traditional type of instruction who did not experience PocketLab mobile technology instruction preferred to utilize more mobile technology to conduct experiments versus 70 % of students in the PocketLab classroom who experienced mobile technology use to conduct experiments. Both groups preferred instruction that utilizes technology to conduct experiments in physics laboratory if given an option with 85.29 % students in the control and 76.67 % in the experimental group indicating this.
The medians of control and experimental groups were 2 and 2 respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test showed significant difference in responses of 5-point Likert scale questions. The mean ranks of control and experimental groups were 39.32 and 24.77 respectively; U=278, Z= -3.31, p=0.001). Control group believed the lab experience allowed for flexibility.
The medians of control and experimental groups were 3 and 2 respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test showed significant difference in responses of 5-point Likert scale questions. The mean ranks of control and experimental groups were 38.43 and 25.78 respectively; U=308.5; Z= -2.80, p= .005. Control group recommended to use the same traditional approach to teach physics lab class in the future.
In general, students who experienced Pocket Lab type of instruction demonstrated higher overall satisfaction of using this type of instruction in the physics lab classroom with the exception of a few items. For example, only 56.66 % of students in the PocketLab group indicated being motivated to learn physics using this type of approach.
An independent sample t-test was used to compare students’ achievement in the Pocket lab and traditional laboratory classroom. Students who experienced Pocket Lab type of instruction demonstrated higher overall satisfaction of using this type of instruction in the physics lab classroom with the exception of a few items.
Research should continue on effective strategies of integrating mobile technology into instruction such as Pocket Lab or other similar technologies. Faculty in higher education environments as well as K-12 science teachers and instructors will benefit from the results of this study.
Audience will be involved in this presentation by engaging in the discussion and will be asked to share their experiences with integrating mobile technology into instruction. Think-pair-share, and brain storming techniques will be used to engage the audience. At the end of this session participants will be able to discuss evidence-based findings about the development of classroom instruction that integrates mobile technology to engage learners. Participants will also receive a strong understanding of strategies and recommendations to enhance students’ learning experiences integrating mobile technology into the classroom.