During the spring of 2016 the Swedish government presented a national IT-strategy involving personal computers for each student from grade 1-9. Meanwhile current studies are indicating the importance of handwriting for learning and remembering new skills. However, according to several cognitive scientists, the results from meta studies regarding analogue and digital tools and their contribution to learning processes are contradictory. A survey and a cross sectional study was therefore conducted aiming to compare analogue versus digital note taking and teaching methods. A total of 85 7:th grade students filled out a survey concerning their preferences in note taking and teaching methods. Non-parametric sign-test statistically proved the students in the study preferred typing over writing by hand when taking notes in class (p =0.008). Reasons for their preference included a general positive attitude towards using computers and students acknowledging the benefits of spelling programs. Furthermore, the students in the survey preferred their teacher using whiteboard instead of Powerpoint when lecturing (p=0.012). The students claimed to comprehend the content given in lectures more efficiently when whiteboard was utilized. The cross sectional study was performed in the purpose of comparing two note taking methods: writing by hand and typing. Two 7:th grade classes (N=39) participated in the study and a total of six theme lessons in ecology were conducted. The students’ individual performances were evaluated with exit tickets involving questions of facts and concepts. The differences between the classes’ performances were only marginal according to Mann-Whitney non-parametric analysis. Based on the results of this study, further implementation of computers in classrooms should be conducted methodically with care.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-61183 |
Date | January 2017 |
Creators | Elofsson, Ann |
Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för utbildningsvetenskap (UV) |
Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
Language | Swedish |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
Format | application/pdf |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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