Students’ Engagement in Technology Rich Classrooms and Professors’ Views of Effective Teaching

• In Event: Emerging Technologies and Their Implications for Faculty Development

Abstract

This study examines aspects of students’ engagement in technology rich classrooms and its relationship to professors’ views of effective teaching. We collected questionnaire data from 332 students and interview data from 13 professors in a large research university in Canada. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed four aspects of student engagement: cognitive/practical, social, reflective, and goal clarity. Professors’ views on effective teaching coalesced around three categories—reproducing knowledge, developing basic/social skills, and developing learning strategies and self reliance. Subsequent multivariate and univariate analyses of variance showed that the extent of students’ cognitive/practical and social engagement is related significantly to professors’ views about effective teaching. The study has implication on design/assessment of technology rich learning environments and faculty development.

Authors

• Engida Hailye Gebre, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Robert J. Bracewell, McGill University

• Alenoush Saroyan, McGill University