The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of pre-service teachers’ participation in a constructivist intervention supported by technology on their confidence in their own ability to plan and create six technologysupported, constructivist, learning activities, as well as to understand their perceptions of the experience. Participants were 23 pre-service teachers accepted into the College of Education’s Masters program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and enrolled in an introduction to instructional computing course during the summer of 2001. A survey was used to assess pre-intervention confidence levels and experience with six technology-supported, constructivist, learning activities. Students were then situated in a class that employed constructivist methodology to facilitate their own exploration of constructivist pedagogy supported by technology. Once students completed the class, they were asked to re-take the survey. A paired samples t-test was used to compare pre-intervention confidence levels with post-intervention confidence levels. The results revealed a significant difference, p < .001, in each of the six areas. Journals, focus groups, and interviews were used to gain insight into the participants’ perceptions of the experience and suggested a reflective process.
['Kathryn DiPietro']
The Effects of a Constructivist Intervention on Pre-Service Teachers