Use of information technology in primary science teaching

The present study investigated teachers’ attitude towards the use of IT in science teaching and learning. The study was conducted with a group of primary school teachers attending an in-service science education workshop. Though the use of IT was not the focus of the workshop, there was frequent use of IT, which included the use of PowerPoint presentation, data-logging experiments, multimedia packages, Internet search and an introduction to the use of PowerPoint in the teaching of science at primary level. The aim of such activities was to enhance primary school teachers’ awareness, competence and confidence to use IT in Education. A survey was conducted at the end of the workshop to explore participants’ attitudes towards the use of IT in education. The four constructs identified by Kay (1993), Davis (1993), and Selwyn (1997) in measuring teachers’ attitude towards the use of computer were re-defined in the present study to measure teachers’ attitude towards the use of IT in science classrooms. The 4 constructs were: affective; behavioural; perceived control and perceived usefulness. The findings showed that teachers had positive attitudes towards the use of IT in both learning and teaching. The paper attempted to summarise the concerns and needs of teachers in using IT in science teaching. Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.