Research Questions
Does the use of technical information in the classroom improve students’ performance?
Study Objective
To compare the performance of students taught using information technology against those who use conventional methods of teaching.
Variables
Independent
Information Technology
Traditional methods of teaching
Dependent
Academic performance
Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis
The use of information technology in educating students does not improve academic performance more than the use of traditional methods does.
Alternative Hypothesis
The use of information technology in educating students improves academic performance more than the use of traditional methods.
Study Design
This study will employ an experimental research design to establish the effects of information technology on the academic performance of students in different study levels. The researcher will identify one nursery school, one primary school, one high school, and one university to enroll participants in the study. The participants will be assigned to two groups, namely, the experimental and control. The researchers will administer the ‘treatment’ (information technology method), while the control group will be taught using traditional methods rather than information technology methods (Muijs, 2011).
Randomly selected teachers will be trained to use information technology for a month before the beginning of the term or semester. During the term or semester, the groups will be taught separately using information technology and traditional learning methods respectively. Then, after the end of term or semester, the participants will be given some exams depending on the class and level.
Study Sample
The researchers will enroll between 600-1000 students to form different levels of study including nursery, primary, secondary, and university. The researcher will obtain a permit to undertake the study from the office of ethics on the research board in the county of study.
The inclusion criteria involve schools that have not adopted information technology in their teaching. The classes should not be the first or last grade or class in the respective level of education. The research will disregard whether the chosen school is public or private. Participants must derive from one class or grade in the same faculty of study.
Data Collection
The results of the participant will be evaluated after the period of the study will be over to identify the difference in performance between the groups in specific schools. Besides, the performance of the student after the end of the research will be compared with the performance in the previous term or semester.
Data Analysis
The researcher will use the results of the test administered at the end of the study to determine the effects of information technology on the academic performance of the two groups. The researcher will find the mean of the performances of the participants in the two groups and perform a t-test to establish the statistical significance of the results in the individual level of study (Cohen, Manion, and Keith, 2007). Similarly, the researchers will find the average of the performances of individual participants in the previous term, before the study, and perform a t-test to establish the statistical significance of the difference in the performance, and establish the impact of information technology on the education system (Bryman and Cramer, 2005).
Moreover, the results across all the study groups will be evaluated to establish the difference in the impact of adopting information technology in different levels of study and the relationship to the characteristics of the students.
Research timeline
Teachers selected for research and assigned to experimental groups will be trained on instructing using different forms of information technology including video conferences, and groups. This training will begin on July 1 and end on July 31. Students will be grouped into two a week before the start of the semester or term, that is, from August 23 to August 30. On September 3, the research study will begin with the classes administered simultaneously for the two groups.
This exercise will take continue for the entire term or semester. The participants will be given an exam by the end of the semester, same time as the other students in the school, set by especially for research purposes. The exams for both groups in respective schools will be the same. The examination will start on November 14 and end on the 28th of the same month. Finally, the analysis of the study will take two weeks starting from December 6 and ending on the 20th same month.
Budget
Reference List
Bryman, A., & Cramer, D. (2005). Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS 12 and 13: A Guide for Social Scientist. East Sussex: Psychology Press.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Keith, M. (2007). Research Methods in Education (6th Edition ed.). Oxon: Routledge.
Muijs, D. (2011). Doing Quantitaive Research in Education with SPSS. London: Sage Publication Ltd.