Information and Knowledge Society

Teaching science and history in secondary education. Relationship between conceptions, feelings and uses of technology

Doctoral Programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
21/12/2015

Author: Silvia Iglesias Barbany 
Programme: Doctoral Programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
Language: English
Supervisors: Dr Toni Badia Garganté 
Departament / Institut: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Keywords: conceptions, feelings, emotions, technology, history, sciences. 
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Summary

The aim of the research was to study in depth Science and History teachers working at a secondary school level and to describe how technology was being used in the classroom by this group of teachers. The first section of this study presents a complete review of the literature on conceptions of teaching and learning, conceptions of science and history, feelings and emotions, and the use of technology in the classroom. The second part presents the results of the analysis of these topics. The study was based on a questionnaire given to a total of 216 teachers from Utah, and data were analyzed using SPSS software. Firstly, a descriptive and factorial analysis was carried out to evaluate and describe the different factors and their outcomes. Afterwards, a correlation analysis was conducted to establish the degree to which two variables were related. Thirdly, a multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the relationship between different variables. Finally, a cluster analysis was completed to identify aspects with similar characteristics that could be included in the same group. The analysis of the variables involved in this study resulted in the appearance of significant correlations among all types of teachers. It was found that being a traditional or constructivist teacher had no effect on the use of technology. In the end, two well-differentiated profiles were determined for History and Science teachers.