Instruments used for data collection

I used three instruments to collect data in my study. They are achievement test (pre-test and posttest) for students, observation of computer lessons and interviews for students and teachers as follow-up to the observation of the lessons. This is consistent with the method adopted by Hartley et al. (2007) in their study which focused on the application of computer-assisted learning strategy in science and mathematics for disadvantaged Grade 12 learners in South Africa. They used classroom observation and interviews to collect data necessary to assess the effectiveness of the CAL strategy. The pretest and posttest (Appendix P) consisted of multiple choice items and short answer items on kinematics. The items in the pretest and posttest for students were developed and adapted from three sources: (a) from South African‟s matriculation past exam papers in Physical Science and (b) from the teachers‟ question bank. The researcher collaborated with the teachers to grade the test in order to ensure that grading was appropriate.

The interviews for teachers and students enabled the researcher to gather data about students‟ experience during instruction and about the simulation‟s contribution to their learning as well as about the teachers‟ perception on the use of ICT during kinematics instruction.

The justification for the chosen instruments is that there is no other more reliable and valid method which could be used in such a study which examines cause-and-effect relationships. Other similar studies have used the same instruments (Yotbain, Marbach- Ad & Stavy, 2008; Sorensen et al., 2007; Park et al., 2008). Although many of these studies make use of questionnaires, questionnaires are not problem-free as Bell, cited in Opie (2004:95) noted that a “questionnaire can provide answers to the question, What? Where? When? and How? but it is not easy to find out why? Causal relationships can rarely if ever be proved by the data collected through a questionnaire. The main emphasis of questionnaires is on fact-finding”.

The interview method is chosen as one of the research methods in this study because it has the potential to help the researcher answer his second and third research questions. The interview method can be used to elicit the „Why‟ of a problem because it allows the interviewer to probe further for clarifications (Opie, 2004). According to Opie (2004:111), “interviews can encourage respondents to develop their own ideas, feelings, insights, expectations or attitudes and in so doing “allowing respondents to say what they think and to do so with greater richness and spontaneity”

Other instruments such as classroom observation and interview schedule are only supportive to the quasi-experimental design in this research. This is because they do not fit exactly to the specific need of data collection in this study since the study involves the measurement of the impact of an intervention on the performance of learners as a result will require the administration of some tests to determine the effectiveness of the instrument and a single method is not appropriate to help me in answering all the research questions. Park et al. (2008) utilised quasi-experimental research design in their study which involves the measurement of the impact of ICT in science education. The quasi-experimental method was combined with questionnaire method in Park et

In addition, the semi-structured interview enabled the researcher to follow up on the responses and data gathered from the pretest and posttest and observation. He collected data from two Physical Science teachers. One of the teachers was the teacher in the experimental group while the other teacher was in the control group during the study. Three students from the control and seven from the experimental were interviewed method. The researcher interviewed the two teachers on their perceptions on the use of ICT in instructions and on the factors hampering their use of ICT in their Physical Science instructions. Teachers were asked a list of semi-structured questions surrounding the factors (third research question) that may influence their use of ICT (Dawson, 2008). Also teachers were required to respond to some questions bothering on teachers‟ use of ICT and their background training in ICT. The interview questions for both the teachers and the students were adapted from Dawson (2008).

The researcher used a suite of computer simulations from the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA and simulation software developed by Interactive Physics based in the United States of America as intervention instruments. The PhET simulations are freely available on the Internet at http://phet.colorado.edu. These instruments have been used in similar studies and they have been adjudged as being valid and reliable. For example, Jimoyiannis and Komis (2001) used Interactive Physics simulations in their study which examines students‟ understanding of trajectory motion and found that students who used simulations performed better than their counterparts who did not use simulations. Also, the PhET simulations were used by Finkelstein et al. (2004) in their research paper titled “Can computer simulations replace real laboratory equipment?” Their conclusion was that simulations can replace real lab equipment because the students mastered the concepts better and they showed greater skills in assembling circuits after the simulations have been used.

The researcher observed the simulation software being used by the Physical Science teacher in the experimental class. The PhET simulations (sims) according to PhET are “animated, interactive, and in game-like environments where students are able to learn through exploration”. According to Perkins et al. (2006:1) “in designing the

simulations, emphasis is placed on the connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science, and the simulations seek to make the visual and conceptual models of expert physicists accessible to students”.

Prior to the administration of the instrument, training was given to the teacher of the experimental group on how to use the instrument. The researcher showed the teacher in the experimental group how the simulations work after they have been installed on the computer. This is to enable to teacher master the use of the instrument before the actual use in lessons. The amount of class time to be used for the administration of the intervention (simulation) and how to prevent the students from getting distracted with other activities during the lessons was discussed before the CAI lessons. During the use of these instruments, classroom observations were carried out of the lessons in the classroom and observation notes were taken.

The two teachers identified for the research were chosen for the reason of comparable standard in the two classes. Mr. C‟s class was comparable with Mr. D‟s class in terms of academic achievements in previous tests. Mr. C was willing and cooperative with the researcher in receiving training on the two simulation software and offered assistance with the research (handing out consent forms to the students and with student interview). Mr. C is an experienced Physical Science teacher who has taught the subject for ten years and interacted well with the subject matter.

The two classes formed the groups of average ability in the set (Grade 11) and they were so distributed into the classes based on the previous academic performance in the school.

There are many simulation software available for use to teach different Physical Science concepts but the PhET simulations and the Interactive Physics simulations were selected for availability and suitability to the topic being investigated which is kinematics which has been identified in the literature as a topic where students have many misconceptions (Thornton and Sokoloff, 1998). The Interactive physics was made available to the researcher at no charge, although it is for sale, for the purpose of the research by design simulations based in the United States of America.

The researcher and the teacher in the experimental class (Mr. C) decided to use the two simulations together in the research because none of the simulations could singularly be used to teach the topic because they were written for different curricula. Mr. C noted during the interview with the researcher that what he did not like about the simulations is that they had to be adapted somehow before they could be used in the South African context.

Observation of the lessons and the use of computers during the Physical Science instruction enabled me to gather relevant data for this study. Lesson observation began in August 2008 and lasted for seven weeks. The observation was followed by interviews for teachers and learners.

To ensure validity of the data collected from the interviews, pilot study was conducted using a convenient sample of three practicing teachers, who were part-time students in my Master‟s Research Methods and Design class. The pilot study was used to check on the interpretation of questions and to inform modification where necessary. After the pilot study, the interview protocol was reviewed and the revised version of the protocol guided me in the conduct of the interviews survey. The interview schedule was administered to the intended study sample. The pilot study also helped to ascertain how long the interview will take to complete as well as it helped to improve the validity and reliability of the instrument. The researcher is central in data collection procedure in any research as well as in data analysis (Merriam 1998; Yin, 1994); therefore, the interview will be self-conducted.

Prior to the administration of the instrument to the teachers and students, it was piloted among the students in my master‟s class at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg to test the reliability and also to remove ambiguity from the questions. All efforts were made to improve on the questions in order to obtain valid information from the teachers and students. For example the question in the teacher interview schedule which says “how often do you use Information Technology in your classroom

was rephrased to read “in the past year, did you use any and how often have you used these examples of ICT in your science teaching?”

3.2.2 Participants

This study was conducted in a single-sex school in Gauteng Province of South African. The school is a well-resourced school in the province since there are ICT equipment such as interactive whiteboard, data projector, overhead projector, and computers as well as laboratory equipment. Participants are Physical Science students in two Grade 11 classes (about 15-17 year olds). There are thirty students in the experimental class and twenty-six students in the control class. The total number of students in Grade 11 is about 110.

The school has a policy of streaming students according to their abilities. Therefore the two groups involved in the study were of comparable ability level as evident in their previous performance in various tests and examinations. There were four classes of Grade 11 and only two classes of the Grade 11‟s participated in the study. As indicated elsewhere in this report, this is due to the fact that this study is of limited scope. The participants were of average ability as identified and classified by the school. There was no random assignment of learners to groups because the researcher did not want to disrupt the school academic programme and the intention of the researcher was to follow the normal school programme but simply introduce the intervention programme. This research was carried out during the third term (August-October) of 2008 academic year. The academic calendar of South Africa runs from January to December with holidays within the terms. The school year is divided into four terms each of which is comprised of about eight weeks. This study was conducted in the third term of the academic year because the researcher had to do a research methods course which ran from January to June before he could carry out any research and the Gauteng Department of Education stipulates that research could only be carried out in the first three terms because the fourth term is reserved for end-of-year examinations.

while they were in Grade 10 according to the South African curriculum. The two teachers involved in this study indicated that they taught the concepts of kinematics in Grade 10 in accordance with the requirements of the curriculum. Also these two teachers are teaching the same class which gave a sort of continuity in the teaching and made the teachers to be more familiar with the learners and their conceptions.