Abstract:

Internet data collection, including web-based surveys, is widely considered to be an efficient, cost-effective method for gathering evaluation data. In theory, the low cost, high speed nature of web-based surveys in particular is thought to increase the likelihood of obtaining large samples, more statistical power, and relevant results. Nevertheless, research on the viability of using web-based surveys in educational settings is still emerging.

In the United States, teacher preparation programs in institutions of higher education are encountering two realities. On the one hand, accreditation and accountability policies stipulate that process and outcome data be gathered regularly from a variety of constituents, including teacher candidates, the cooperating teachers who mentor them, and faculty supervisors who supervise the student teaching experience. On the other hand, higher education budgets have been reduced, and institutions of higher learning frequently do not have the resources to support the production of paper surveys and assessments or manual data entry. Hence, low cost, efficient electronic surveys are an attractive option.

The present study attempts to examine some of the gaps in the research around using web-based surveys in teacher preparation settings by exploring higher education and public school faculty’s attitudes toward technology and online evaluations, as well as predictors of user acceptance of online data collection methodology.

Research questions include:

• What are university supervisors’ and cooperating teachers’ attitudes toward online student teacher evaluations?
o How useful and easy do they perceive online evaluation?
o What conditions facilitate or impede their use of online evaluation?
o How do they feel about online evaluations as compared to traditional paper-and-pencil evaluations?
• What is the level of computer experience of university supervisors and cooperating teachers?
o What is the relationship between level of computer experience and attitudes toward using online student teaching evaluations?
• What are university supervisors’/cooperating teachers’ attitudes toward technology?
o What is the relationship between level of computer experience and attitudes toward using online student teaching evaluations?
• What are the relationships among university supervisor/cooperating teacher demographic variables, level of computer experience, attitude toward technology, and attitudes toward online student teacher evaluations?

The study sample includes 250 classroom teachers and university supervisors who have participated in one semester of online data collection. Subjects will complete an online survey soliciting their feedback on the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, obstacles, and overall value of online evaluation, as well as attitude toward technology, level of computer experience, and demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and t-tests will be conducted to explore the attitudes and characteristics of university supervisors and cooperating teachers engaged in online data collection. Additionally, structural equation modeling will be utilized to attempt to explain study subjects’ overall acceptance of online versus paper data collection. The results of this study will be used to offer guidance to institutions considering implementing online data collection with a similar population.

Keywords:

Teacher preparation, assessment, survey methodology.