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Pengiran Shaiffadzillah Pengiran Omarali, MA Educational Technology and TESOL Tutor, Meragang College Brunei E-mail: shai.omarali@moe.gov.bn
THE EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF DIGITALLY-SAVVY LEARNERS
Abstract: The use of computer technology in classroom settings has fascinated educators for decades that there is now an extensive body of literature dedicated to this area of educational research. One hypothesis shared by a majority of these studies is the effect of classroom digital technology on our new generation of learners. However, there is less emphasis on how traditional teaching methods affect the same set of learners. There is this unquestioned dogma that traditional teaching method in this digital world will inevitably be obsolete. This paper is an exploratory and preliminary study that compares the effect of minimising technology use on learners' learning experience and performance in the classroom.
Keywords: traditional learning method, educational technology, digital learners.
Introduction
As a concept, Gauthier et al. define traditional teaching method as an "expository form of teaching, dominated by the teacher [that] relegates pupils to a passive role, reduces their classroom activity to the memorization of data to be recited to the teacher, and in particular, leads to the acquisition of skills of a lower taxonomic level" [1; 2]. However, in recent literature, the term is increasingly synonymous to forms of teaching that do not use recent forms of technology.
Literature review
A review of the literature has unearthed various commentaries on traditional teaching method based on conjectures and observations. One study commented that, "traditional teaching methods and tools have clearly not had the same success as they had in the past [2, 196]. Another study commented that, "perhaps disaffected by traditional teaching methods and the competitive target culture of schools, many students have turned to social networking through the cluster of computer-based applications known as Web 2.0" [3, 213]. Still others believe that students have now developed preferences towards technology
[4], and that they "may not respond well to traditional teaching methods that focus mainly on lecture and textbook reading" [5, 189]. According to another commentary, "today's students have grown up with the speed of video games and MTV. They have little patience for lectures, step-by-step instruction of thinking, or traditional testing. Compared to their experiences with digital technology, they find traditional teaching methods dull" [6, 98]. This paper is thus an investigation on how technology-savvy learners perform in exclusively traditional classrooms compared to their peers in exclusively technologised classrooms.
Method
This study involved two cohorts of pre-university college learners with an age range of 16-18 years old. Each cohort consisted of n = 17 students (n = 34 altogether). The sampling method was convenient sampling based on their participation as students of the same English course. The study incorporated two forms of data collection, viz. a quantitative online questionnaire and performance scores. The precursor online questionnaire profiled the learners' dispositions towards digital technology. The performance
Section 4. Information Technology and Education
scoring was conducted for 3 months. The delivery of learning and the exact content in the classrooms differed for both cohorts. The first cohort was exposed to only traditional methods of learning. This cohort, referred to as the TRARAD cohort, was to voluntarily minimise their use of digital technology in the classroom. In contrast, the second cohort was predominantly exposed to the digital technologies and devices in the classroom. This cohort, referred to as the TECH group, was to voluntarily maximise their use of digital technology in the classroom.
Results
The descriptive analysis of the online questionnaire revealed that all of the learners had experience in using word editors (n = 34), immediate access to the internet (n = 34), owned an internet-enable phone device (n = 34), and had online accounts for e-mails (n = 34) and other social media platforms (n = 34). Less homogeneous is learners use of specific internet features, notably on actively posting updates on Ins-tagram (n = 22), playing online video games (n = 27), blogging (n = 2), uploading personal videos on You-tube (n = 3) and reading e-books on internet reading platforms (n = 11).
With regards to the use of digital technology in day-to-day learning, the questionnaire found that learners use the internet for school related research on either a daily basis (n = 25), or every few days (n = 9). When asked on their use of mobile phones exclusively in the classroom for learning prior to the study, the questionnaire found that (n = 31) frequently use them during lessons, with the most accessed features being online dictionaries (n = 13), Wikipe-dia (n = 11) and other specific websites (n = 11). In certain situations, the usage of digital technology in the learners' classrooms was limited, due in part to teachers' apprehension towards mobile phones and its misuse during lessons. Based on the above results, the questionnaire suggested that the sample comprised of learners who indeed have dispositions towards using digital technology and that these dispositions in various extents have become syn-
onymous with their personal learning approach and habits. Overall, there was no distinction between the two cohorts and this was confirmed via an unpaired t-test analysis.
On performance scores, a mock exam during the second month of this three-month study revealed that the TRAD group had an average grade of 64.1% while the TECH group had an average grade of 69.3%. Similarly, the coursework that was collected during the three months revealed that the TRAD group had an average score of 64.1% while the TECH group had an average score of 69.3%. The exact same scores within each group reflected on the possible consistency and transposability oflearners' performance in both forms of assessment. Nevertheless, the TRAD group had lower grades and scores compared to the TECH group by a margin of 5.2% in both instances.
An analysis of each individual's performance in the three month period suggested that the TRAD cohort comprised of less capable learners, with an average score of 65% based on their first month performance. In contrast, the TECH cohort comprised of more capable learners, with an average score of 76.4% based on their first month performance. These values are then used as baseline scores. Thus, the method by which the use/ non-use of technology in the classroom was indicated is through observing the progress of learners' performance after three months. For the TRARAD cohort, their average monthly scores while using traditional learning processes were 65%, 62.9% and 68.2% respectively with a differential of -2.1% and +3.2% from their baseline scores. In comparison, the TECH cohort average monthly scores were 76.4%, 67.1% and 69.4% respectively with a differential of -9.3% and -7% from their baseline scores.
Conclusion
The results of the study above are indicative of the effects of traditional teaching methods on a group oflearners having technological dispositions. Although the study followed a small sample of two cohorts that are bound to the context of their popu-
lation, the results are suggestive of traditional teaching methods may be as effective if not more effective than the use of educational technology. Based on the academic performance throughout the 3 months, it can be speculated that the continued use of traditional teaching methods may be a less daunting prospect when transitioning into a new learning environment, while introducing a new technology in the classroom (in this instance the VLE Canvas, the use of e-mail submissions, etc.) introduces with it a steep learning curve. This was evident in the dip in performance in the TECH group based on the negative differential values two and three months after using technology
that they were still trying to familiarise with. Ultimately, the use of predominantly traditional teaching methods in this three month duration did not, as suggested by the literature, stifle or become detrimental to the progress and performance of the technologically savvy learners. Rather, traditional teaching method has its own set of benefits that for reasons hitherto unknown parallelled the trend of improved academic performance. This study recommends the research to be further extended, particularly in addressing other external variables and in revisiting the compariso once learners in both cohorts are settled in their respective methods of learning.
References:
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3. Williams P. Leading schools in the digital age: A clash of cultures. School leadership and management. 2008.-Volume 28.- No. 3.- P. 213-228.
4. Omarali P. S. P. Investigating the effectiveness of the 'online learner profiling questionnaire'in generating a profile of learners based on learner dispositions: a pilot study. Forging new pathways of research and innovation in open and distance learning, 2016.- P. 99-108.
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