Abstract:

In the last decade, Turkish Ministry of National Education (MONE) is having increased focus on technology integration in schools in order to establish more student-centered classrooms and meet the 21st century skills. Like in developed countries, Turkish secondary students will also have access to Internet, tablet computers and interactive smart boards through FATIH (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) project. Both teachers and students are encouraged to use interactive technologies to enrich teaching/learning process. Teaching methods that promote interaction and discussion are known to benefit learning. Personal Response Systems (PRS) represent some of the powerful interactive technologies in the classroom that can be used to promote active learning. This study describes an initiative in a mathematics classroom where PRS technology was used to support in-class discussion and evaluation with students. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence secondary school students’ acceptance PRS integration in the classroom. The study examines the effects of Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis’s (2003) Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) variables on secondary school students’ acceptance.

The following research questions are addressed:
(1) Do the UTAUT variables (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions) influence secondary school students’ acceptance of PRS integration?
(2) Do gender moderate the effect of the four direct determinants in the UTAUT model (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions)?

Participants included 61 secondary school students and two mathematics teachers who use PRS in the classes. The quantitative component of this research utilized a 56-item survey examining students’ perception and acceptance of PRS use. The qualitative component involved focus group discussion with a random sample of surveyed students. Students are also observed to see their use of PRSs in class. Students provided positive feedback regarding the use of PRSs. Students requested the increase in use because they felt the use of PRSs supported and improved their classroom learning. They also enjoyed the peer discussions that instructors facilitated with regard to the use of clickers. Teachers were also positive about using PRSs for formative and summative evaluation, and to recall previous topics.

Keywords:

Personal Response System, Clickers, Active Learning, Secondary Education, Technology Integration.