Instructional Design and Media Selection

Instructional Design and Media Selection

Eisa H.R. Hasan

2001

Ph.D. thesisUniversity of Twente

Also available in print:www.tup.utwente.nl/uk/catalogue/educational/media-selection

T w e n t e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s

http://www.tup.utwente.nl/uk/catalogue/educational/media-selection

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Acknowledgements

During the four years of my study at the University of Twente, I received much support

from Institutes and individual persons to do my research and finish this dissertation.

I would like to express my profound thanks to the Public Authority for Applied Education

and Training in the State of Kuwait for the financial support which made the completion of

this work possible.

I am grateful to my supervisor, Professor Dr. Sanne Dijkstra for the constructive ideas,

adequate feedback and proper support. The continuous discussion and the intellectual

support he provided helped me to accept and overcome the difficulties and problems I met.

This work could not have been completed without his supervision and assistance.

For the data coding I appreciate to thank Dr. Yousef Al-Zalzalah from Kuwait University

for his assistance. He also offered me an office with required facilities during my work in

Kuwait. Other persons at the University of Twente were helpful for the data analysis, I am

thankful to Frans Houweling and to the colleague Fahoom Shalabi from the Administration

and Management Department.

I like to thank the faculty members in the Department of Educational Technology at the

College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait for the facilities and for assigning the

groups of students to participate in the experiments.

I am grateful to my colleagues of the Department of Instructional Technology, Tessa

Eysink, Koen Veermans, Mark Gellevij, Casper Hulshof, Renate Limbach, Bregje de Vries,

Irina Shostak, Rijanto Purbojo, and Mohammad Saleh for the constructive discussion

during the Pro-IST meetings. Special thanks go to Tessa for making the Dutch summary

“Nederlandse samenvatting”.

ii

I would like to thank the secretaries of the department, Thyra Kamphuis - Kuijpers, Eveline

Heijink, Pauline Teppich and Daniëlle Egbertsen. They were helpful not only for the

secretarial work but also to facilitate the issues related to the living in the Netherlands. My

sincere thanks go to Thyra for her assistance in editing the chapters of the dissertation.

The experiments involved a number of students in the College of Basic Education in

Kuwait. I wish to thank those students who accepted the invitation and positively

participated in the experiments. They were the students of the teacher training program and

the students of the media specialist program.

This work is dedicated to my family who have missed me for such a long time. Firstly, my

wife who is the first person who encouraged me to take the opportunity of the Ph.D.

scholarship. She spent tremendous efforts to take care of educating our children during my

study, which provided me confidence and concentration to do this work. Secondly, my

children who took the responsibility on their performance at school. Ala’a, who is in the

first year at Kuwait University, Ahmad who is in the honor board and will be in the final

year of secondary school, Amnah who will start her first year in the secondary school,

Eiman who will be in the third class of the middle school, and Amira who will start her

middle school. To my family, I love you so much.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. CONTEXT OF THE STUDY: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1

1.1 Introduction to the context and goal of the study 11.2 Teacher education 11.3 Problems of the teacher training program 21.4 Instructional-design theory as an integrative framework 31.5 Overview of the content of this dissertation 4

2. INTRODUCTION TO INSTRUCTIONAL-DESIGN AND CHOICE OFMEDIUM 7

2.1 Educational goals, instructional communication and media 72.2 Instructional Design 10

2.2.1 The main concepts of Instructional Design 112.2.2 Philosophical foundations of instructional design 12

2.3 The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model 142.3.1 Theoretical foundation of the Problem-based Instructional-Design

Theory and Model 152.3.2 Subject matter, information and problem solving procedures 172.3.3 Construction of knowledge and skills as a result of solving problems 182.3.4 Instruction, Instructional communication and Instructional Design 182.3.5 Types of problems 202.3.6 Educational goals and level of performance 22

2.4 Instructional design and media 242.4.1 Media and learning 252.4.2 Research on the effect of media on learning 252.4.3 The effect of media on cognitive processes 262.4.4 Constructivistic assumption of the effects of media on learning 29

2.5 The selection and use of media 312.5.1 Features of objects and choice of media 33

2.6 Research questions 35

3. THE TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF KUWAIT 39

3.1 Introduction 393.1.1 Facts and figures of teachers and students in Kuwait 39

3.2 Education in Kuwait 413.2.1 Historical background of education 413.2.2 Education in the Constitution of Kuwait 433.2.3 Structure and organization of the Education System 443.2.4 General goal of education in Kuwait 44

3.3 Teacher training in the State of Kuwait 45

iv

3.3.1 Pre service teacher training in Kuwait 453.3.2 The development of the teacher training in Kuwait 46

3.4 Historical development of the teacher education program at theCollege of Basic Education (Public Authority For Applied Educationand Training) 48

3.4.1 First attempts 483.4.2 The start for female students 483.4.3 Teacher Institute 493.4.4 Teacher Dar 493.4.5 Teacher Education Institute. 493.4.6 College of Teacher Education 503.4.7 College of Basic Education 51

3.5 The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training 523.5.1 The foundation of PAAET 523.5.2 Objectives and policies of the Authority 533.5.3 Activities and functions of the Authority 53

3.6 College of Basic Education at PAAET 543.6.1 Objectives of the College 543.6.2 Organization of the College 553.6.3 Numbers of staff and graduates of the College of Basic Education 56

3.7 The College of Education at Kuwait University 573.7.1 Historical background 573.7.2 Department of Education 583.7.3 College of Education 583.7.4 General objectives of the College of Education 593.7.5 Programs of the College of Education 603.7.6 Organization of the College of Education 613.7.7 Number of staff and graduates of the College of Education 61

3.8 Future Prospects 63

4. THE INTEGRATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGYPRINCIPLES AND SUBJECT MATTER CONTENT: A SURVEY 67

4.1 Introduction 674.2 Domains of the teacher education program 68

4.2.1 The culture domain 684.2.2 The domains of the formal and empirical sciences 684.2.3 The vocational (professional) domain 69

4.3 Problems of the curriculum 694.4 Method 71

4.4.1 Participants 714.4.2 Materials 714.4.3 Procedure 724.4.4 Data 72

4.5 Results 72

v

4.5.1 Reliability 724.5.2 Factor analysis 734.5.3 The mean scores on the subsets of the questionnaire 754.5.4 Written responses 79

4.6 Discussion 81

5. EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL-DESIGN THEORY ON THESELECTION OF MEDIA IN THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS ANDMEDIA SPECIALISTS 87

5.1 Abstract 875.2 Introduction 875.3 Instructional communication and instructional design 885.4 The medium 905.5 Reality or a representation of reality 925.6 Method 93

5.6.1 Participants 935.6.2 Material 945.6.3 Tests and questionnaire 95

5.7 Results 995.8 Discussion 103

6. EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL-DESIGN THEORY AND MEDIACHARACTERISTICS ON THE SELECTION OF MEDIA IN THETRAINING OF TEACHERS AND MEDIA SPECIALISTS 107

6.1 Abstract 1076.2 Introduction 1076.3 Instructional communication 1096.4 The medium 1116.5 Reality or representation of reality 1126.6 Media choice 1136.7 Media and learning 1146.8 Method 118

6.8.1 Participants 1186.8.2 Materials 1196.8.3 Design 1216.8.4 Test and questionnaires 1216.8.5 Procedure 122

6.9 Results 1236.10 Discussion 129

vi

7. GENERAL DISCUSSION 133

7.1 Assumptions on the use of instructional design theories and models for teacher training 1337.2 Instructional-design theory and the selection of media 1357.3 The instructional-design model and its use in teacher training practice 1367.4 Discussion of the results 1397.5 Concluding remarks 141

REFERENCES 143

ENGLISH SUMMARY 151

DUTCH SUMMARY 157

ARABIC SUMMARY 165

APPENDICES 169

Appendix A 171Appendix B 173Appendix C 175Appendix D 176Appendix E 179Appendix F 180

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 182

Introduction and overview 1

CHAPTER 1.

CONTEXT OF THE STUDY: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW.

1.1 Introduction to the Context and Goal of the Study

The author is working with the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training of

the State of Kuwait. The Authority consists of the Board of College of Basic Education.

The Authority agreed to the study described in this dissertation. The study is based in the

curriculum of the college, and is inspired by the special problems faced by the teacher-

training program, especially in the production of instructional materials and the choice of

media. The participants in this study are students of the college.

The goal of the study is to understand the problems faced by teacher-trainee college

students in the production of instructional materials and in the selection of appropriate

media. The students will be provided with an instructional design theory and model they

can use for their teaching activities, production of instructional materials and the choice

media. The effects of the theory and model as an integrative framework will be studied and

discussed.

1.2 Teacher Education

To train teachers for elementary and secondary schools, the State of Kuwait has adopted

a system of training their teachers in colleges. The programs train students for the different

levels of education, and for various subjects and special tasks in order to achieve the

objectives and standards required by the State. The teacher-training program is realized in

two special colleges. The College of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied

Education and Training trains teachers (all females) for kindergarten, and teachers (both

male and female) for elementary schools. The College of Education at Kuwait University

trains female teachers for kindergarten, and both male and female teachers for elementary,

middle and secondary schools.

The teacher training program introduces the students to various domains and

subdomains, such as psychology, especially learning theory and theory of motivation,

Chapter 12

teaching methods (instruction) and learning processes, and information and communication

technology. The main focus of the program in these two colleges is to develop the teachers’

knowledge and skills in three domains: (a) the cultural domain, (b) the formal and empirical

sciences domain, and (c) the professional and vocational domain. Each domain consists of

several courses.

1.3 Problems of the Teacher Training Program

One of the problems the teacher education students in the State of Kuwait encounter is in

integrating the information from the three basic domains into a coherent body of knowledge

and skills that can be used for teaching (Abu-Zaina, Hassan, Al-Jazzar, 1990). The course

content of these three main domains should be presented and discussed in such a way that

the students will be able to integrate it and use the integrated knowledge in their job. The

problem, however, is that the courses in each of these domains are presented and studied

separately, and the relationships between the content of these courses are not taught to the

students. The students, therefore, are unable to integrate the content into a coherent body of

knowledge. Teaching the courses as separate pieces of (information) knowledge does not

clarify the relationships between the content of the courses and may possibly prevent the

students from getting insight into these relationships, whether within the same domain or

between different domains. Moreover, the importance of the courses has not been explained

to them. Therefore, the students often express their concern and wonder at the reasons for

studying these courses and the benefits of these courses for their teaching jobs. An effective

teacher education program comprises of courses from different domains, and develops and

integrates the students’ knowledge and skills in such a way that these can be used for

teaching.

Among other required courses, the students in the teacher-training program in the

College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait have to acquire and practice instructional

technology principles. The instructional technology courses are considered as core courses

that all students have to study. There are two main courses - Introduction to Educational

Technology, which consists primarily of the theoretical basis of instructional technology

and Production of Instructional Materials, which consists of prescriptions for the design


and production of instructional materials, which are then put on media (as information

carriers), such as transparencies, educational boards, slide series, video productions and so

forth. In their jobs, teachers have to apply the principles of the different domains, such as

the sciences, psychology and instructional technology for the construction of instructional

messages (information, tasks, problems for the students), and then put these messages on

media as information carriers, and other media. They further have to use rules for

evaluation and assessment, and apply all of this in an integrative manner. In a teacher-

training program the principles of different domains should be presented and integrated in

order to develop the teachers’ capabilities and competencies in teaching.

The students of a teacher training college have to learn how to design the instructional

communications with their students, how to select a proper medium that will promote

learning and how to produce instructional materials to be presented with those media.

For the students, these tasks are complicated as they have to integrate three subtasks -

categorize subject matter, relate the representation of the reality with media selection, and

design and develop instructional communications from understanding instructional design

theory. Finally, they should integrate all these into a coherent body of knowledge and skills.

The relationships between these conditions should be found and presented to the students,

so they can develop their knowledge and skills for designing instructional messages and

making a proper choice of a medium.

1.4 Instructional Design Theory as an Integrative Framework

In the study described in the following chapters, instructional design theory and theories

of media are used as a framework for the production of instructional materials and choice

of media. After discussing the various instructional design theories and models available,

the Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000, 2001)

was selected as the basis for this effort. This theory and model is used as a basic source of

knowledge for the teachers and as a framework for media choice. It is supposed that an

instructional design theory and model, which is general, can help the students integrate the

knowledge of specific domains, design specific instructions and make a choice for a proper

Chapter 14

medium. Further, it is supposed that this particular model is both relevant and

representative of the kind of framework required to support this integrative objective.

The goal of this dissertation is to develop an instructional framework that can support

the students’ knowledge and skills in the teacher education program in the State of Kuwait.

The students’ knowledge and skills on the design and development of instructional

materials and the selection of a proper medium that represent these materials needs to be

improved.

1.5 Overview of the Content of this Dissertation

The presentation of an instructional design theory and model and the associated

development of knowledge and skills based on the use of the theory and model in the

practice of teaching are the focus of the study reported in this dissertation.

In chapter 2, the definitions and conceptions related to instructional design and media

are presented and clarified. The development of each perspective and their relationships

with other aspects such as learning theories, epistemology and cognitive science are

discussed. The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model is introduced as a

theory that encompasses these perspectives and provide instructional design framework for

the design and development of instruction and for the selection of a proper medium.

Therefore, that model is used for the design and development of experimental instructions

based on which the students have to solve problems.

The study was conducted at the College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait.

Therefore, the teacher training system in the State of Kuwait is introduced in chapter 3. It

includes the development of the system and its objectives. The general educational system

of the State of Kuwait illustrated with figures and numbers is also included in this chapter.

The problems, found in the teacher training program in the College of Basic Education

in the State of Kuwait, is presented in chapter 4. A survey to identify and specify particular

problems was administered to the students of the program who took the Production of

Instructional Materials course. The results of the survey and the problems of reaching the

determined objectives of the course are discussed in this chapter.

The results of the survey are presented in chapters 5 and 6. In chapter 5, the effects of a


general instructional design theory on the selection of adequate media are investigated. The

prior knowledge of the participating students is also considered. Therefore, students from

two different programs - teacher-training program and media specialist program - in the

college were selected. The results of the study are presented in this chapter.

In chapter 6, the effect of three specific conditions of the instructional design model with

increasing details about media on the choice of the medium are examined. The students of

the same two programs who participated in the first study (chapter 5) were selected for this

study because of their different prior knowledge. The results of this study are presented in

chapter 6.

In chapter 7, general conclusions are given based on the assumptions, the results of the

survey, and the overall study and analysis.

Chapter 16

Instructional design and media 7

CHAPTER 2.

INTRODUCTION TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND CHOICE OF MEDIUM.

2.1 Educational Goals, Instructional Communication and Media

The oft-described goal of institutionalized education is that students will develop

knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand reality, and be able to adapt themselves to the

situations and tasks with which they will be confronted. The content of the knowledge, the

steps or operations of a skill, and related attitudinal tendencies are usually described in

textbooks or other instructional sources. Because the scope of information and problem-

solving methods just for the sciences and their applications is so vast, it has been the norm

in education to break up the information into different subjects and topic areas (e.g., social

studies, science studies, mathematics, art, religion, and so forth). For these subjects,

instructional designers and teachers develop problems to be solved and tasks to be carried

out by students. Teachers have to: find ways of communicating with learners about the

context and content of the problems and how to solve them; provide information if the

students need it; and, explain the context in which the problems arise. In these

communications the teacher has to represent reality in such a way that students are

supported in gaining appropriate knowledge about the particular reality, and can then learn

and practice desired skills. Depictions of reality can take various forms, such as signs,

pictures, portrayals, sketches, and so on. These will function as media for representing

objects (entities, things, situations, and events). Content can usually be presented in many

different ways with different representations. The “sign” as a medium for representing

reality historically appeared after the use of voice and gestures (Seel & Winn, 1997). This

interpretation of the word ‘medium’ as a way to represent reality is but one use of the term;

other uses of ‘medium’ are discussed below.

Later, when written language and script were developed, both the depiction and the

description became mediated. Pictographic and other signs (representations) as well as

entire descriptions are now stored in such a way that they can be presented (displayed) to

readers and learners whenever necessary. For storage, an information carrier is used (paper,

Chapter 28

celluloid, silicon chips). The information carrier itself represents a second interpretation of

the work ‘medium’ and now is part of media representation in education. For centuries

paper has functioned as a storage (also display) medium. Often a technical device is used to

present stored information to a reader or to a student. Such devices include books, overhead

projectors, computer monitors, and so on. The display device represents another meaning or

interpretation for ‘medium’. This use of the word ‘medium’ to refer to the display device is

well known to and often by teachers.

Designers and teachers need to select a medium for use in their teaching and instruction.

How do they make the selection and why? A general condition is that the medium or media

should appropriately represent and use the subject matter content in such a way that the

intended goals of the curriculum are likely to be supported and reached. The selection and

use of a proper medium or media has been considered a task to be accomplished keeping in

mind the effect of a certain medium or media on learning. The rules for the selection of an

adequate medium or media have been designed and developed in relation to different

learning theories and are presented in different instructional design models (e.g., Cantor,

1988; Reiser & Gagné, 1983; Reynolds & Anderson, 1992; Romiszowski, 1988). Since the

media have been considered as merely a vehicle (Clark, 1983) for the presentation of

information, the research on media has been merged with the study of the effects of each

type of medium on the cognitive processes and learning results in comparison to the

performances of a control group. This approach has been criticized (Jonassen, Campbell &

Davidsen, 1994; Kozma, 1991).

The effect of media should be studied in the context in which the medium is presented or

selected or used (Jonassen, Campbell, & Davidson, 1994). The effect should be studied as a

result of media characteristics: technology, symbol systems, and processing capabilities

(Kozma, 1991). The contention is that the design of the learning and teaching context

contain epistemological assumptions: about knowledge, about conditions for understanding

that knowledge and for skill acquisition, about the content of a subject to be presented,

about the teachers' and learners' tasks, about the means of communication, and about the

representation of the reality. The decision has to be made whether to use the real object or a

representation of the object, or both. These aspects have to be combined into an integrated


theory and model that prescribes how to design instruction. The content of a subject

consists of a description of the reality that can be examined as concepts, principles,

assumptions and theories of that domain. For the development of these concepts, principles,

assumptions and theories by the students, problems have to be designed. The solution of the

problems fosters the development of knowledge and skills. Such problems can be designed

in special contexts (Bransford, Sherwood, Hasselbring, Kinser & Williams, 1990). The

teacher has to develop learning environments, including media, to represent the objects in a

problem or problems. Students have to be active learners and solve problems to acquire the

intended knowledge and skills. Therefore, media selection and use has to be incorporated in

an integrative instructional technology. Such a technology should take the aforementioned

aspects into account.

The selection of instructional media is considered to be one of the main phases or

activities in the design of instruction. The selection of the medium should be grounded in

an instructional-design theory, and be one of the components of the instructional-design

model. The selection of a specific medium may be a difficult task for instructional

designers and teachers because only a few rules are known about what the most adequate

media will be in a given circumstance and when to use them (Dijkstra, 2001) and because

of the numerous criteria that have to be taken into account (Dörr & Seel, 1997). The

delivery or display system, which is one use of the word ‘medium’, integrates

representation (another form of medium) with subject matter content and instructional

strategies. Thus instructional design is always concerned with selecting or developing

appropriate delivery systems. In general, instructional design theories and models have

shown many developments often influenced by findings and theories from related fields.

Accordingly, instructional design theory and the phases and steps of the model were often

revisited and modified.

In the following part of this chapter, a few developments in the field of instructional

design will be addressed. The focus will be on media research and on the influence of

media on learning. The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra,

1997b, 2000) will be considered for its use in media selection. The theory will be used for

designing and developing different types of instructions for the selection of adequate media

Chapter 210

and studied in the experiments on media selection. The studies will be presented in

subsequent chapters.

2.2 Instructional Design

Instructional design is concerned with specifying the rules that have to be applied to

make instruction. If these are proper rules for making instruction, grounded in an

instructional- design theory and experimentally confirmed, it is supposed that the

instruction will promote the students’ learning and possibly improve it. The various

instructional-design theories and models reflect many different approaches. The underlying

basis for most instructional-design models is a theoretical foundation, a research base

confirming the actual use of the instructions, and a description of the instructional situations

where the principles of the theory can be elaborated (Tennyson & Schott, 1997). There is a

relationship between epistemology, learning theory and instructional design theory

(Dijkstra, 2000). That means that a development in any of these fields will probably effect

developments in the others. A specific design for a subject can be derived from a general

design model. Such a design is also influenced by developments in other related fields,

especially epistemology and cognitive science. Therefore, the instruction for developing the

learner’s knowledge and skills on a specific domain should be designed and developed on

the basis of an instructional- design model that corresponds with developments in the

related fields.

In this section of the chapter, the definition and the importance of the instructional-

design theory is provided. The importance and effectiveness have been considered from

various perspectives. However, all of these perspectives aim at the same goal, which is the

facilitation and occurrence of learning, and more specifically, the acquisition of the

intended knowledge and skills. An instructional-design theory consists of assumptions and

explanations why specific instructional designs will foster specific kinds of learning. An

instructional design model puts that theory into a set of heuristics that can effectively guide

instructional planners in developing instructional designs. An instructional design specifies

what has to be done by the designers or teachers for specific learning outcomes to be

optimal in a particular situation.


Different instructional design theories and models have been developed, such as: the

Principles of Instructional Design (Gagné & Briggs, 1979), the Instructional Transaction

Theory (Merrill, 1997), and the Four Component Instructional Design Model (van

Merriënboer, 1997). Overviews of these theories and models are given by Reigeluth (1983,

1999), Tennyson, Schott, Seel, and Dijkstra (1997a), and by Dijkstra, Seel, Schott, &

Tennyson (1997).

The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000), will

be used for the research that is described in the following chapters. The theory and the

model were chosen for the design and development of instruction and for the selection of

media. The theory is grounded in constructivist epistemological principles and embedded in

the psychology of problem solving and thinking. The research was carried out in the

College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait. The goal of that college is the training of

teachers for primary education.

2.2.1 The Main Concepts of Instructional Design

The various terms and definitions used to refer to instructional design (e.g., instructional

design, instructional development, educational/instructional technology, instructional

systems development/design) reflect the theoretical assumptions and practical descriptions

of instructional design (Elen, 1992). An instructional-design problem is an instance of the

category of design problems. The general heuristic to solve a design problem is sometimes

used as a model to guide the activities. This is, for example, done in the descriptions of the

Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). From a theoretical

point of view instructional design (ID) is defined as a theory that consists of a set of

statements that interpret why an instruction will lead to the intended goal. From the theory,

prescriptions are made for determining appropriate instructional strategies to enable

learners to acquire the indicated instructional goals and objectives (Merrill, 1997). Seel and

Dijkstra (1997) contended that ID is considered both a discipline and a technology for

instructional planning. They state: “As a science ID aims at detailed and theoretically well-

founded specifications for effective learning situations. From a technological point of view,

ID mainly consists of creating concrete instructional materials and environments in which

Chapter 212

students can learn effectively” (p. 4). The approach in which instructional design uses the

theories of cognition and learning for the prescriptions of design (models and rules) is

adopted and integrated in the research to be described below. In short, the view that ID is

an enterprise involving theory and practice, an engineering discipline, is accepted in what

follows.

Recent instructional design theories and models emphasize their epistemological

foundation to characterize the development of knowledge. These theories are tagged as

experiential or constructivist which means that it is assumed that a human being explores

the reality and constructs a conception of it. For the design of instruction this means that a

learning environment should be made which allows students to explore, to find regularities

and to make things and create and test solutions to problems. Examples of such

instructional-design theories include: Anchored Instruction (Bransford et al., 1990), Goal-

Based Scenario’s (Schank, Fano, Bell & Jona, 1993), the Four Component Instructional

Design Model (van Merriënboer, 1997), the Model for Complex Teaching-Learning

Environments (Achtenhagen, 1999), and The Problem-based Instructional-Design Theory

and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000).

These theories and models have been developed in parallel with developments in

cognitive science, and have often contributed to it. The Problem-based Instructional Design

Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) is considered a prescriptive theory and model which

takes into account recent trends in instructional design. The assumption of the model is that

the students' experiences with objects make the construction of knowledge possible. This

experience will be made possible by providing problems to the students and by giving them

tasks to do. The approach overcomes the possible limitations of the instructional design

theories and models of the objectivist tradition identified by Jonassen (1991). The earlier

objectivist theories and models were considered too analytical and decontextualized,

because they over-emphasized the analysis of existing subject matter apart from the

students’ perspectives and experiences.

2.2.2 Philosophical Foundation of Instructional-design

Instructional-design theory was influenced both by changes in the philosophy of nature


of reality (metaphysics), and of nature of human knowledge and cognition (epistemology).

The effects are clear in defining and utilizing both objectivist and constructivist paradigms.

Jonassen (1991) compared these philosophical paradigms. The objectivist position assumes

that the world is real and structured. This structure can be modeled and presented to the

learner. The human mind mirrors that reality, and structures and represents it by symbols

(e.g., language). The mind manipulates abstract symbols to represent and produce the

meaning of the object in the reality by thought processes. For objectivists, meaning is

independent of and external to the person who wishes to understand it. It is also determined

by the structure of the real world. Learning is viewed as a process in which the learner tries

to grasp the denotation of the entities or concepts in the real world. Jonassen (1991) has

stated that “Objectivism assumes that learning is the process of mapping those entities or

concepts onto learners” (p. 9). It holds that there is an objective reality that the learners

assimilate. It is the role of the teacher or the instruction to interpret the events for the

students, rather than encouraging them to make their own interpretations of what they

perceive. The learners’ task is to replicate the content and structure in their thinking.

Constructivism assumes that conceptions about reality are developed in the mind of

human beings and are based upon their experiences. Though constructivism does not

preclude the existence of an external reality, it claims that the construction of knowledge

about external reality is based on prior experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that one

uses to interpret objects and events. All individuals construct their own interpretation of

reality by interpreting and relating their perceptual experiences of the external world.

Meaning is a function of how an individual creates meaning from these experiences.

External reality is conceived somewhat differently among different individuals based on the

unique set of experiences with the world and beliefs about them. These assumptions should

inform the design of instruction according to constructivists. They lead to the following

rules for design:

1. The acquisition of knowledge should include active construction of knowledge.

Situations for induction of knowledge and for testing hypothesess are important.

2. Learning should be situated in a relevant and realistic context.

3. Possible meanings of a situation should be provided. Multiple perspectives should be

Chapter 214

possible for the student.

4. Misconceptions should be prevented or minimized, if possible. The same information

should be provided in different contexts.

5. Learning is a social process. This means that teacher feedback on student

performance, an ongoing dialogue between teacher and students, and cooperation and

collaboration among students should be encouraged.

2.3 The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model

In the objectivist instructional design theories and models, the outcomes of instruction or

categories of learning (e.g., discrimination of concepts, use of procedures, application of a

principle, etc.) are isolated, and instructional–design rules are formulated for each category.

The problem is that a coherent piece of information will often contain more than one

instructional outcome. The general limitation of most existing ID-models is that their unit

of analysis leads to isolated instruction for limited pieces of knowledge. As a result, there

are few instructional prescriptions on how to integrate different units and how learners can

flexibly use them in solving problems.

Moreover, the classic instructional-design models based on heuristic structures only

partly explain why an instructional solution will reach its desired goal since they often only

contain a set of rules to solve a design problem. Without additional information, an

explanation why the rules might work or fail in various circumstances cannot be provided.

Therefore, an instructional-design theory should be more than a set of rules; it should

explicitly relate instructional planning, learning, cognition and knowledge acquisition. The

theory should describe the different types of knowledge and skills, address how students

solve problems, and explain why and how instruction influences the acquisition of

knowledge and skills, and how these actual designs are developed for categories of subject

matter.

Finally the classic instructional-design models tend to emphasize what the teacher

should do rather than what the learner should do, although instruction is always a

communication between an expert and a learner. Moreover, the process, which begins with

the analysis of subject mater content and task analysis, places more emphasis on the content


structure and analysis techniques than on the presentation of information to students in

meaningful problem-solving situations. The problem with this approach is that the students’

activities and how these activities will facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skill in a

certain situation are not prescribed in sufficient detail. The emphasis in some early

instructional design models is on identifying discrete packages of information that might

unwittingly encourage simple memorization rather than meaningful problem solving.

In modern instructional-design theories and models, more emphasis is placed on the

learners’ interaction with the relevant objects (or their representations), on the construction

of knowledge and on understanding and using knowledge in different situations. Thus, the

presentation of information does not interfere with more meaningful learning activities. The

learner should be active, do things, and construct a sequence of operations to reach a goal.

Instructional–design models should prescribe which situations will optimally support the

learner to develop knowledge. Those situations are labeled problem-solving situations.

2.3.1 Theoretical Foundation of the Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and

Model

The Problem-based Instructional- Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000) is

developed from a cognitive-psychological perspective. The model is grounded in

constructivistic epistemology and in the psychology of problem solving. In a learning

environment, students should explore, receive questions to answer, study the relevant

features of objects and characterize their changes. The learner, in these situations, is invited

to develop or construct knowledge and problem-solving procedures. In a problem-solving

situation, the students will construct their knowledge and skills by answering the questions

that cannot be given immediately, and for which a number of steps have to be carried out or

have to be developed and then carried out. These activities resemble the activities of those

persons who originally constructed the knowledge by solving problems. A learning

environment will be productive for learners if they are involved in solving problems and if

the environment helps to monitor the students and provide information when necessary.

Therefore, knowledge is constructed and a skill is learned and practiced by solving the

problem and using the problem solving procedures.

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The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) is founded

in experientialism (Lakoff, 1987) and in the constructivistic assumptions of Piaget (1937).

The design theory also uses the idea that human beings can reach an agreement about the

meaning of many things and can agree on the truth of much knowledge. In short, this

constructivist perspective is socially situated and avoids the solipsistic conclusions of more

radical constructivists. This idea makes it possible to require students to acquire the

interpretation by comparable actions and procedures. A teacher can evaluate the knowledge

and skills that are acquired in this way. The assumptions of experientialism or

constructivism are supported by the results of experiments on concept learning

(categorization), which show that knowledge is a result of perception, imagination and

embodiment. Different assumptions have been formulated about thought and knowledge

based on the results of these experiments (Lakoff, 1987). Thought is a result of perception,

bodily experiences and imaginative capacity. Imaginative capacity leads to abstract

conceptions such as set theory and logical operation. Therefore, knowledge is developed as

a result of bodily, perceptual and imaginative capacity of the organism.

The Problem-based Instructional- design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) requires

students’ activity. It provides situations for action and induction - finding features for

categorization, finding regularities and their interpretations, and, creating designs - and thus

for the construction of knowledge and skills. The design starts from an inventory of

problems the solution of which leads to the information and problem-solving methods that

the students should develop as knowledge and skills. The problems can be embedded in

different contexts dependent on the school’s location and on the culture involved.

The construction of knowledge and skills are a result of activities such as observation,

exploration, imagination, research and development. When these activities are carried out

in an unclear situation in which it is felt that something is missing, and when the activities

are done in a systematic way to provide the missing something, then the activity is labeled

problem solving (Dijkstra & van Merriënboer, 1997). The result is the construction of new

knowledge and skills. The design theory is general and is applicable to different situations

and domains (Flechsig, 1997). It deals with the formulation of specific learning outcomes,

and how to reach these outcomes. The learner will be confronted with specific problems or


cases in the learning environment. The theory describes the types of problems and the

instructional approach and guidelines to build a learning environment around the selected

problems in order to reach the learning outcomes. In addition it provides prescriptions for

the specific instructions which can help the teacher. An overview on the theoretical

assumptions and components of the Problem-based Instructional- Design Theory and

Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) and its compatibility with the current perspectives in instructional

design will be provided in the next section.

2.3.2 Subject Matter, Information and Problem Solving Procedures

Human beings try to find answers to questions (problems), and they ask about the

regularities that they perceive in their experiences. These activities, which starts in infancy,

leads to the construction of knowledge and skills. After the stages of cognitive development

and after the development of language and basic skills in education, students become more

and more aware of the persons who developed important knowledge and technologies.

Later they learn more about how to formulate questions precisely and how to find evidence

for scientific knowledge. If the knowledge and skills are written in journals and books and

stored in libraries the result is labeled “information” and the way the problem is solved is

labeled “problem-solving procedures.” Typically, other persons have access to these

resources. Thus, in our libraries we can find information and problem-solving procedures in

many documents stored in different information carriers (paper, celluloid, silicon chips).

The amount of information and problem- solving procedures is increasing and libraries are

becoming bigger.

Information and problem-solving procedures are categorized in different ways. One way

is to categorize them into domains (subjects) and subdomains, such as: philosophy, law,

language (Arabic, English), mathematics, physics, chemistry, psychology, anatomy,

physiology, sociology, and so on. Another way is to categorize them based on the public

sector that needs and uses the knowledge: agriculture, business, administration, education,

defense, and so on.

If a group of people believes that a part of the information and problem-solving

procedures is important for them (or for their children, their employees, etc.) they can give

Chapter 218

assignments to design education and training for them. Then the whole procedure of

instructional design will start: goal formulation, design of curriculum and description of

subject matter, design of categories of problems to be solved by the learners, development

of instructional materials (development of ways and means of communication, including

information to provide and use of media), and so on. By solving problems in the domain

involved the student can learn. In that process the information and problem-solving

procedures are changed into knowledge and skills.

2.3.3 Construction of Knowledge and Skills as a Result of Solving Problems

The construction of knowledge and skills is a human activity. It is a complex goal-

oriented process that can be attempted by one person independently as is done in scientific

research or by a person needing the help of others as is done in organized education. In

education, students try to solve problems that are especially designed for the development

of knowledge and skills. The design of the problems includes several features of the

problem, such as the context in which it is presented and the amount of information that

will be given in advance to the students. There are no rules how much information has to be

provided about the object(s) in the problem space before asking questions and giving tasks.

Too little information might make the problem much too difficult for the students. And

providing all the necessary information and methods may result in the students simply

copying a solution and not be involved in any problem-solving activity. The information

includes a depiction of the objects to be used in the instruction, of their change and how to

sketch them. This means that the designers of instruction need to make a decision of which

medium to use.

2.3.4 Instruction, Instructional Communication and Instructional Design

Instruction is any intended activity to promote learning; it may be designed either

instantaneously (i.e., during the learning process) or in advance of the learning process.

Instructional design (ID) comprises the theories, plans and procedures, for actually

constructing the instruction, such as the explanation and assignments to promote learning

and providing ways to reach the desired learning outcomes. ID is general and deals with


learning outcomes, the specification of problems or cases the learners will be confronted

with, the objects and situations about which the questions are asked, and the selection of

instructional methods including media to build a learning environment around the selected

problems in order to reach the learning outcomes - all in a given circumstance.

Communication between instructors and learners is a critical part of the learning process,

The method and frequency of communication between and among experts and novices,

masters and apprentices, or instructors and learners is dependent on the characteristics of

the target group members, their locations, and their jobs and settings. This leads to special

requirements for the instruction and often for specific media to be used.

If teachers, instructors, or trainers are available (in schools, universities, and

corporations), a distinction has to be made between the instantaneous design of

“instruction” in direct communication between an instructor and a learner or group of

learners and the use of an instructional artifact or learning environment for the support of

learning that is developed elsewhere. Such artifacts are a textbook, a manual, a construction

kit, a computer-assisted instruction, a lab classroom, a device for the experiments to be

carried out, a wall chart, and many other products. The instructor then will partly conduct

the learning for which the instruction designer often provides an instructor’s manual.

Finally, the characteristics of the target group members and the degree of precision with

which the learning process can be monitored may lead to complete automation of the

instructive communication. A textbook structures the learning process more globally than a

computer-assisted instruction does. The construction of auto-instructional devices with a

sequence of frames for active responding and feedback originated the step-by-step

monitoring of the learning process. The design of different types of computer-assisted

instruction (CAI) and of intelligent tutoring system (ITS) supposes that it is possible to

initiate and precisely monitor the learning process and predict and correct learners’ errors.

This is not generally the case, although in some circumstances this supposition is

appropriate.

In education, verbal communication and communication by other media usually are

integrated, though the independent use of media for learner- directed self-development, and

this integration has become increasingly important. The content of the communication is

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the description of the “world” being studied and the description of the tasks to be done to

promote understanding. In the communication, the conceptions of the teacher and the

student have to be shared; otherwise, they will not understand each other. Without media

education is impossible.

As mentioned earlier, one of the tasks of instructional design is the design and

development of the problems that the students have to solve. Both the objects (entities,

things, situations, events) that are used in the problems and the information about these

objects have to be represented. The learners have to do different tasks with the objects, such

as categorize them, interpret their change and design objects. Sometimes they have to do

this in combination. These tasks probably will influence the selection of media. Thus the

type of problem has to be described first.

2.3.5 Types of Problems

In the Problem-based Instructional-Design theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) three

types of problems have been described. Special emphasis is given to the category of design

problems, because this problem did not receive much attention in the classic instructional-

design theories. The theory presents three types of problems as representative of the kinds

of problems to be solved in order to understand a particular domain or subject. Solving each

type of problem will lead to the acquisition of different types of knowledge and skills. As

shown in Figure 2.1 the three types of problems distinguished are:

1. Categorization or description problem: For categorization problems, objects or

instances must be assigned to categories. The cognitive constructs resulting from such

problem-solving activities are concepts (both class and relational), conceptual networks, or

descriptive theories.

2. Interpretation problem: Interpretation concerns the change of objects. Why does an

object change or how did the object reach its present state? For interpretation problems,

relationships between concepts must be identified. It should be clear that concepts are basic

to principles. The cognitive constructs resulting from the solving of interpretation problems

are hypotheses, principles, causal networks, or explanatory theories. In contrast to


descriptive theories, explanatory theories not only describe regularities, but also provide

deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved.

3. Design problem: For design problems, new objects or artifacts must be created

(sketched) and (often later) be developed. Again concepts are basic to the solving of design

problems. The cognitive constructs resulting from design problem solving are plans,

procedures, or prescriptive theories. For design problems a few subcategories of problems

are distinguished, which are based on the "life cycle" of an object. These subcategories are

the design problem, the development or construction problem, the use and maintenance

problem and the restoration, discard or archive problem.

Figure 2.1. Three types of problems and their relationships.

Though it is possible to distinguish the three categories of problems theoretically, in

practice they usually appear in combination. For example, an interpretation problem always

concerns concrete or assumed objects (e.g., plants and insects, molecules and atoms) whose

changes are the subjects of research. For the solution of an interpretation problem a device

Interpretationproblems

Principles, causalnetworks, explanatory

theories

DesignProblems

Plans, procedures,prescriptive theories

Categorization problems

Concepts, conceptual networks, descriptive theories

Chapter 222

or measurement instrument often has to be designed. And for the design of an object, often

the results of interpretation problems will be used.

2.3.6 Educational Goals and Level of Performance

The contents of a subject are the cognitive constructs resulting from exploration,

discovery, imagination, research, and development activities. However it is impossible for

the learners to replicate all these activities. Therefore, several other goals at a lower level of

performance can be derived from the ultimate goals of education. Dijkstra (1997)

distinguished between these types of goals. The level of the formulation of learning

objectives influences the construction of instructional materials. For example, for the basic

goals of education which are retention, understanding, and active use of knowledge and

skills (Perkins, 1991), the instructional materials will be different from the material that is

developed for higher level goals. Dijkstra (1998) described three levels of educational

goals: (a) independent development of new knowledge, (b) application of existing

knowledge, and (c) remembering the knowledge from reading and being told (see also

Merrill, 1983). As indicated in Figure 2.2, three levels of performance can be distinguished

for each of the three categories of problems: (a) remember, recognize, and imagine; (b)

apply, use, and predict; and (c) construct, create, and invent.

The content of a subject is a result of all problem-solving activity in the domain

involved. The stored information is so wide that it is impossible for human beings to

acquire it during their lives, even the information about a special domain (e.g., about matter

in physics, or about the human body in medicine). This situation leads to public goals,

because the future of society is dependent on the process of imparting knowledge and skills

to future generations.

It is clear that the learners have to replicate some part of the exploration, problem

solving, and design activities at a certain level of performance. The instructional designers

have to select the types of activities that the students have to do, the problem to be solved

and they have to specify the level of performance that the learners have to reach in order to

be able to solve such types of problem.

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Exploration, imagination, and original problem solving activities result in information

that will be used to solve more problems. In education, part of this information will be

acquired as knowledge and skills. Both should meet the criterion that they are understood.

For the knowledge and skills to be acquired this means that first the situation in which the

skill can be executed will be recognized and that, if necessary, the procedures can be

applied and predictions tested. The tasks to be performed should be critical for the

development of knowledge and for practicing the skills. Often the tasks will resemble the

original task as much as possible; that is, working toward authentic tasks in real situations

(‘situatedness’) is considered to be important. It is supposed that knowledge and skills are

acquired in a simultaneous process. The acquisition of knowledge and skills can be

separated but then they have a chance to be learned by rote and are less transferable.

At the lowest level of performance, both examples of the solution and the procedure to

reach a solution are available for the learners. At the middle level of performance, only the

procedure to reach a solution is given. At the highest level of performance, neither

examples of an analogous solution nor the procedure to reach a solution are available for

the learners.

The three categories of problems and three levels of performance for problem-solving

activities in each problem category have to be distinguished by the designer and the

teacher. This allows them to select the type of problems or cases on which they can base

(problem-based) instruction.

2.4 Instructional Design and Media

The concept of medium is described in different ways, as indicate earlier. Seel and Winn

(1997) give an overview of the descriptions. For the purpose of this study the code related

and the technical conception are most relevant. The code-related conception characterizes

media "according to the rules through which their users denote messages by signs during

the process of information production and through which they attribute meaning to signs in

situations of communication" (Seel & Winn, 1997, p. 315). As Seel and Winn (1997) make

clear, this conception is fundamental for "the semiotic understanding of communication and


representation" (p. 315). The code-related conception is relevant because in education signs

often represent objects.

The technical conception of media describes the technical device that is used to produce

the signs (the representation of objects and the conceptions about them), for example a

blackboard, an overhead projector, a computer, and so on. The capabilities of the device in

producing signs as representations of objects and the representation of change of objects

determines the usefulness of a technical device for instruction. Teachers and media

specialists are most familiar with this conception of media, although the code-related

conception is relevant as well.

Besides these two conceptions, the biological and the physical conception are relevant

for the instructional communication. The biological conception is related to the senses that

are involved in the communication, and the physical conception is related to the physical

conditions that makes the communication possible (for example sound waves).

In education it is often necessary for the objects and the conceptions about them to be

represented in pictures and schemas. This means that the choice of media, both code-related

and technical should be included in the instructional design.

2.4.1 Media and Learning

The general influence of media on learning can be divided into two main aspects. First,

the capabilities of media to represent the reality, and second, the features of media that

foster the development of knowledge and skills.

2.4.2 Research on the Effect of Media on Learning

The research on the influence of media has shown some developments. Until about the

second half of the 1980s the research described and compared the influence of a new

medium over the current one. In addition, the experimental group used a type of medium,

whereas the control group most often received “traditional” education. The research

questions were mainly on what effect the new medium or media will have on the learners’

acquisition of knowledge and skills in comparison to a conventional medium. This is a

medium-centered research. The recent research on media focuses on the effects of media on

Chapter 226

cognition and how media can provide environments for authentic learning. Its research

questions how and why certain types of media with certain characteristics develop the

learners’ knowledge and skills. That is how the learner can benefit from certain media for

knowledge construction. The recent research on media is characterized by a learner-

centered approach. “Here the research emphasis shifts from measuring the medium’s

efficiency in delivering content to assessing its value in allowing students the freedom to

apply their particular cognitive abilities and preferred learning processes in independent,

problem solving activities.” (Ullmer, 1994, p. 28). The earlier research on the effects of

media and their attributes has been guided by behaviorism, which portrays learning as the

result of instruction being delivered by some medium that serves as stimulus presentation

(Dörr & Seel, 1997). The focus of this type of research has been on a medium’s

enhancement effects such as communication efficiency or accuracy while overlooking

significant enabling and activating effects. It seeks conclusions about learning from the

relatively few stimuli they offer, but do not reveal the students’ capabilities and roles in

learning, either by promoting, or inhibiting, the growth of learning proficiency, or by

triggering increases in learning activity (Ullmer, 1994). The conventional media research

assumes that learning occurs as a result of information delivery by some medium.

Moreover, the newest medium always has been considered to be the most effective one.

The research questions that were examined for the instructional possibilities of a new

medium are nearly the same.

2.4.3 The Effect of Media on Cognitive Processes

In a discussion on the relevance of media for learning between Clark (1994) and Kozma

(1994), the latter stated that the contribution of media to learning should be thought in

terms of their underlying structure and the causal mechanism by which they might interact

with cognitive and social processes. Kozma (1994) stated “Media can be analyzed in terms

of their cognitively relevant capabilities or attributes. These include a medium’s

technology, symbol systems and processing capabilities” (p. 11). Learning and knowledge

have been considered as reciprocal interaction between the learner’s cognitive resources


and aspects of the external environment and this interaction is strongly influenced by the

extent to which internal and external resources fit together.

The cognitive effects of media are primarily influenced by the symbol systems and

processing capabilities. However, the cognitive effects of a certain medium can be

described and distinguished from other media by its technological characteristics

(mechanical and electronic aspects). A book, a television, a radio, a computer, and so on

employ certain symbol systems and processing capabilities based on those symbol systems.

For example, television can be considered as a medium that is capable of employing

representational (i.e., pictorial) and audio-linguistic symbol systems; video and motion film

can be thought of as equivalent in this regard, while they can be distinguished from radio

which can only employ a subset of these symbol systems (Kozma, 1991).

A certain symbol system of a medium could have different effects on the learner’s

mental representations than others. Salomon (1994) contends that certain symbol systems

may be better at representing certain tasks and that information presented in different

symbol systems may be represented differently in memory and may require different

mental skills to process. For example, the cognitive effects of books are different from

other media such as television or computer because of the differences in their

characteristics and the different symbol systems they employ. Books are characterized by

the symbol systems they can employ: text and pictures. Each one of these symbol systems

involves specific construction of mental representations, and the combination of pictures

with text may have certain cognitive effects. In addition, learners’ comprehension and

learning can be achieved by the stability of these symbol systems in the book. The learners

will slow their rate in reading, make more or longer eye fixations, or they may regress their

eyes, going back, to review a word as an aid to retrieving a meaning for it by interacting it

with their prior knowledge and memory (Kozma, 1991).

Learning from television implies different cognitive effects. The symbol systems which

television can employ, such as pictures, diagrams, and other representational symbol

systems are transient and able to depict motion. The presentation of information by a

combination of visual and auditory symbol systems in television resulted in more recall

than the visual-only or audio-only presentations. The processing of transient information

Chapter 228

characteristics of television may have some advantages in the development of dynamic

mental models, which are used to reason in the solution of problems.

Kozma (1991) argues that computers can be described and distinguished from other

media by their transformational and procedularizing capabilities rather than the symbol

systems they can employ Computers can transform information from one symbol system

into another. For example, a computer with a voice synthesizer can transform a printed text

into speech, or transform equations, numerical values, or analog signals into graphs. The

transformational capabilities of the computer can be used to aid students in constructing

links between symbolic domains, such as graphs, and the real world phenomena they

represent, whereas proceduralizing information can play a role in aiding learners to

elaborate their mental models and correct their misconceptions with the use of micro

worlds.

Salomon (1994) argues that the media’s symbol systems effect learning because of two

interrelated reasons. First, the media’s symbol systems, which are the primary and the most

essential attributes of media. Those symbol systems are the codes that are used in any

representational forms (e.g., books, maps) for selecting, gathering, sorting, and conveying

knowledge. Second, all cognition and learning is based on internal symbolic

representations, which enable learners to represent and deal symbolically with the external

environment. Salomon (1994) concludes, "If symbol systems are central to media of

communication and to thinking, then the interaction and interdependence between the two

systems can not be ignored” (p. 3).

Consistent with Salomon’s argument, Seel and Winn (1997) explain the relationships

between the sign (as a medium) and perception. They assume that any sign (as a medium)

is perceptible by the human senses. They add that the perceptual processes act in the same

way on signs as they do on any objects they detect. Moreover, the structure imposed on a

collection of signs by perception is crucial to the interpretation of the meaning the signs

embody.

In restructuring the debate about learning with media (Clark, 1994; Kozma, 1994),

Jonassen, Campbell, and Davidson (1994) shifted the discussion of media effects on

learning from instruction- and media–centered design to a learner-centered conception of


learning. They stated that according to contemporary theories of learning, such as situated

learning, every day cognition, constructivism, intentional learning, and cognitive

apprenticeship, it is assumed that learning is most effective if it is situated in the context of

some meaningful, real-world task. These theories seek to integrate learning and instruction

within the environment. Jonassen, Campell, and Davidson (1994) clarified the relationships

of media and their context. Media as conveyors are environments in which activities are

embedded and with which the learner, who is part of the learning environment, interacts.

They concluded, “Learning is distributed between the media, the learner, and the context”

(1994, p. 32). Dörr and Seel (1997) generalized that the effects of media on learning are

attributed to the medium’s correspondence to the characteristics of both the learning tasks

and the learner’s processing capabilities, such as their prior domain-specific knowledge,

metacognition, and motivation. They conclude: “Basically, this interplay between the

processing capabilities of the learner and the medium, as well as between specific demands

of the learning environment and organizational constraints, is at the core of most media

selection models” (Dörr & Seel, 1997, p. 156).

Therefore, the effect of media on learning should be studied in the context in which the

medium is selected and used. Thus, the potential relationship between media and learning

can be considered as an interaction between cognitive processes and characteristics of the

environment. Since all learning and cognition are based on internal symbolic

representations, and because all media use specific symbol systems, it has been suggested

to distinguish media with regard to two aspects: (1) the symbol systems that each medium

uses for communication and offers for mental representation; and, (2) the processing

capabilities of information of each medium (Dörr & Seel, 1997).

2.4.4 Constructivistic Assumption of the Effects of Media on Learning

A constructivistic assumption about the role of media on knowledge construction is that

media can influence learning in an indirect and subsidiary way. The learner will extract the

necessary information from the information presented to complement the insufficient

domain-specific knowledge in order to construct a mental model. The characteristics and

attributes of media can control the learner’s perception and attention and, therefore, mediate

Chapter 230

and promote the learning activities. Jonassen, Campell, and Davidson (1994) assume that

knowledge construction depends on solving problems by the learner. The designers should

be able to allocate to the learners the cognitive responsibility for the processing they do best

while the designers allocate to the media the processing it does best. They assert that the

focus of the media contribution to learning should be on how media can be used to facilitate

knowledge construction and meaning making on the part of learner. Furthermore, Jonassen,

Campell, and Davidson (1994) state “Questions about the role of media should focus on the

effects of learners’ cognition with technology as opposed to the effects of technology-

media as facilitators of constructive learning, rather than the conveyors of instruction” (p.

35).

Consequently, multimedia are better used as environments or tools that enable learners

to construct their own artifacts, rather than using multimedia to deliver instruction. In

addition, they consider the lack of concern with effect of context has been the major failing

of instructional systems technology research. That the effects of media exist in and rely

upon their surrounding context is usually ignored. An instructional medium should be more

than a mere vehicle. It is a synergistic combination of technology, task, and context. They

refer to contemporary theories of learning, such as situated learning (Brown, Collins &

Duguid, 1989), every day cognition (Lave, 1988; Rogoff & Lave, 1984), constructivisim

(Jonassen, 1991; Duffy & Jonassen, 1992), intentional learning (Scardamalia, Bereiter,

Mclean, Swallow & Woodruff, 1989), and cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown &

Newman, 1989). These theories consider that learning is most effectively situated in the

context of some meaningful, real-world task. Jonassen, Campell, and Davidson (1994)

conclude, “learning is distributed between the media, the learner, and the context” (p. 32).

The focus of the earlier research on media was to investigate the effect of a medium

(media) to solve certain types of problem that develops the learners’ knowledge and skills.

The focus of the recent research on media is to investigate which medium (media) can be

used to assist learners to solve certain type of problem in order to develop their knowledge

and skills.


2.5 The Selection and Use of Media

The Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model specifies the main aspects,

which have to be addressed to determine the selection and use of media. These aspects are

consistent with the current advocates of the role of media on learning. For instruction, the

designer should be capable to categorize the subject matter into different kinds of

information and to design problems that support the development or construction of

knowledge and skills. Moreover, they should be capable to make a decision how to use

reality or how to present it with using a medium. On the other hand, the learners are invited

to interact with the reality or its representation for the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

The learners have to induce a hypothesis from the regularities they perceive in order to

explain the change of objects, and design and develop new objects (artifacts). For the three

types of problems, Dijkstra (2001) provided an overview concerning which medium is

adequate for solving problems from that type. Though no medium is directly connected to a

certain type of problem, the overview provides a guide what can be done. Table 2.1 shows

the problem category and media use.

The learner has to make an image of the objects in the reality and should be able to

develop mental models from the depiction or representations provided by a medium or

media to solve a problem that will be crucial for the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Secondly, the choice of the medium or media is considered according to the context of the

problem, the type of problem to be solved, the level of performance, and the learners’ task.

In all situations a few main aspects have to be addressed that determine the selection and

use of media.

Chapter 232

Table 2.1

Problem Category and Media Use (Dijkstra, 2001)

Problem type Real objects Representation of objects

Categorization • Determine relevant features(telescope, microscope).

• Determine relationships.

• Observe relevant features ofobjects on pictures anddrawings, photographs, slidesand transparencies.

• Make drawings on paper andon screen.

• Observation and use of models(e.g. a globe).

Interpretation • Observe changes and movements.

• Execute measurements andexperiments.

• Collect data.

• Observe changes andmovements with movie,timelapse photography, slowmotion animation.

• Use interactive simulation.

• Elaborate virtual realities.

• Use telepresence.

• Observation and use of models(e.g. planetarium).

Design • Make sketches and prototypes.

• Practice production techniques.

• Practice use and maintenanceprocedures.

• Practice restoration techniques.

• Observe and use video (e.g. inrole playing, in showingdesigns).

• Use simulations (e.g. flightsimulator).

• Use three dimensional models(e.g. demonstration engines).

First, because instructions concern statements and question about reality, the

instructional designer or teacher has to solve the problem how the students can access that

reality. Two options are possible: students are able to access the reality itself, or they will

access a representation of it. Both the access of the real world and the use of media are used

in education, but there are circumstances in which only a particular medium can be used.

For example, if there is a risk of too much damage or when the objects (reality) can not

easily be perceived or are too far away, then only a medium that can adequately simulate

the reality is appropriate. In these situations a representation of reality as a medium is of


decisive significance for learning which means for the development of images of objects

and processes of change and for the construction of concepts, principles, and plans.

Therefore, the medium will be a proper representation of reality if its intention is focused

on one of these components. For example, the solar system as a reality should be

represented in order to construct knowledge (the concept of planet, the relationship between

the size of planet and gravity, understanding the circulation of planets around the sun). If it

is difficult or impossible to bring students to a telescope to watch the planets and their

movements, a representation of it can show these events. Though these events appear as an

integrative whole, for learning purposes a medium or media can be selected and used to

represent these events individually.

Second, for solving problems and for the acquisition of knowledge and skills it is

necessary to provide a description of the real (or imagined) objects, to operate on the

objects, ask questions to the reality and if possible to get feedback after operating on it. For

the acquisition of knowledge and skills, the learner has to manipulate the real or

represented objects and find (extract) relevant information that complements the mental

representation and extends the knowledge of reality. Both the representation of reality

(medium) and the students’ manipulation should reach a certain and intended level of

performance. Thus, the selection and use of a certain medium or media depends on the

criterion whether it will influence the learner’s acquisition of knowledge and skills in the

context given and to reach the standards of performance that are given.

Third, even when the real objects can be used, the medium will be able to show the

objects and their features in such a way that the relevant features will be emphasized and

the irrelevant ones will be stripped away.

These three aspects determine the selection and use of media, but the question which

medium to use when is not yet answered. So how to find rules for media selection and use

and how to develop rules for instructional design for media selection?

2.5.1 Features of Objects and Choice of Media

Instruction and medium have to be integrated. In some cases learning without a suitable

medium is impossible. Media are resources that can be considered to be learning-enabling

Chapter 234

tools, which if selected properly can enhance cognitive processing and affect learning

efficiencies (Jonassen et al., 1994). As aforementioned the two functions of media use, a

representation of reality and the learners’ interaction with the representation are most

important. The instructional designer always will try to construct such a learning

environment that the students can be active, consult the reality and operate on it. For

solving identification and interpretation problems the perception of regularities is essential

and the students will try to induce a rule from the regularities they perceive. For solving

identification problems the cognitive constructs that will develop are both class- and

relational concepts. The objects that have to be categorized can be drawn or shown as

pictures, such as the planets in the solar system, or the parts of plant. It is useful to

distinguish between concepts of the formal sciences and of the empirical sciences. For

example, mathematical objects such as elements in sets and geometrical figures should be

shown as drawings. Relationships should be presented on graphs (paper and computer). For

objects of the empirical sciences (e.g., biology) the reality itself should be consulted, but if

there are reasons this is not possible it should be shown as pictures. In case a process has to

be categorized and motion has to be shown, time-lapse photography and video are useful, to

show how the parts of a plant are functioning. A model that shows the movement of the

planets is also useful.

For learning to solve interpretation problems, the cognitive constructs are hypotheses

and theories that explain the change of objects. These have to be developed by the students.

Based on the hypotheses and theories predictions can be made or it can be explained how

something came about. For showing change, data have to be collected in different

conditions and the process has to be shown. Thus an experimental device is the reality from

which to learn. Or a slow motion of a process shows what happens (e.g. show how an insect

flies, how the Lunar and Solar Eclipses happen). Visualization of models and simulation of

a process are useful for supporting learning. Based on regularities in patterns of data the

student should be able to induce a rule and solve an equation.

For solving design problems a distinction should be made between design of new objects

(artifacts), leading to a prototype, and construction (development) operations, maintenance

and repair of these artifacts. In case of design visualization (drawings) and often three-


dimensional models (as prototypes) can be used. For training purposes (e.g., learning how

to construct an object such as a farmhouse), video of comparable cases can be used. For

maintenance training, drawings and video are useful. In medicine, still pictures of the

symptoms (features) of illnesses and movies of the course of the disease are good examples

of media use. Much the same is true for movies how to operate in medicine (surgery,

dentistry). For learning how to operate complex equipment and complex processes,

simulators are valuable.

The general rules for media selection which were derived from the Problem- based

Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1998) are as follows:

1. The use of “technical” media is dependent on its suitability for the acquisition of

knowledge and skills. Based on the special features of the objects to be used in problem

solving, the instructional designers and teachers, within certain constraints of time and

available budget, will suggest or select those media and representations they suppose are

necessary or helpful for the knowledge acquisition process.

2. The students’ activities should prevail in determining the choice of medium.

3. The medium should meet the requirements of the learning task in the most suitable

way. Thus, if a skill has to be learned, the student should be able to practice the steps of the

task and receive relevant feedback the moment when it is necessary.

4. The features of the objects and of the course of their change should be represented in

a medium in the best possible way.

2.6 Research Questions

Instructional designers and teachers have to make a choice for a medium to make their

instructional communications possible or improve their communications and provide

problem situations for the students. The selection of proper media requires that the teachers

recognize the problems that have to be solved, the objects and their features that are

involved, and the types of knowledge and skills that the students have to develop. It

involves that the teacher should design problems or questions that the students should

answer. Thus from the information and problem-solving methods of the content of a subject

the teacher should design the different types of problems. The teachers also should be able

Chapter 236

to describe the intended level of the students’ performance. They should understand the

different meanings of the concept of medium and how media can represent objects and

change of objects. They also should have knowledge of instructional situations where

media can be used. Finally, the teacher should be able to select a medium (media) that is

appropriate for the students to develop their knowledge and skills by solving problems and

doing tasks.

It is hypothesized that if the theory about media in an instructional communication is

integrated with a problem-based instructional-design theory and embedded in teaching

practice, the choice of medium will be more adequate than if only the technical features of

the medium are applied and practiced without paying attention to the construction of the

instructional communication for the situation involved. For testing this hypothesis the

Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) is chosen.

The Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model will be used as basic

knowledge for the teachers and as a framework for their media selection skills. It is

supposed that if the students use the prescriptions and rules in an integrative way with their

teaching this knowledge will facilitate the selection of appropriate media. If it is not

possible to integrate the theory and model with teaching practice the students will not

benefit from the theory. Therefore, practicing only the production techniques of media will

not develop the knowledge and skills for the selection of adequate media.

This prediction was tested in a study with students from the College of Basic Education

in the State of Kuwait. The College has different training programs, for teachers, for media

specialists, for evaluation specialists, and for librarians. The students of teacher training and

media specialist program will participate in the study. First, a survey was administered to

determine student knowledge of the relationship between the content of the instruction and

the meanings of the concept medium. The survey was administered to students of the

teacher-training program. The results of the survey were used to define the problems of

integrating the rules of media selection with other related principles, such as a content of an

instruction and teaching method, and proposing solutions for solving such problems.

It is assumed that the students of the program for teacher training will benefit more from

the Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model than the students of the program


for media specialists. The teachers have to understand the content of a subject and how to

design instructional communication with that content. The media specialists practiced only

production techniques.

Two studies are reported in Chapters 5 and 6. In the next chapter the reader will first

find a detailed description of the teacher training in Kuwait.

Chapter 238

Teacher education in Kuwait 39

CHAPTER 3.

THE TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF KUWAIT.

3.1 Introduction

The role of teachers.

In institutionalized education, from primary through secondary grades, teachers are

considered to be the experts in the context of instructional communications. They are a

crucial factor in the description of the domains of knowledge, in providing problems and

tasks and in offering help to students when they require it. Although learner-centered

instruction is possible and sometimes advocated, the influence of the teacher in the

description of the domain and their choice for media to represent these should not be

overlooked. The teacher has to find a means of communications to represent the reality

being studied and to develop or deploy learning environments in such a way that the

students can interact meaningfully. In order to train teachers for their jobs, the training

program should contain information and problem-solving methods in various fields, such as

psychology, especially learning theory and theory of motivation, teaching methods and

processes, and information and communication technology. The success of an educational

system depends on the quality of teachers. High quality teachers are able to fulfill

educational objectives and assist learners in developing and applying their knowledge and

skills outside the walls of schools. Well-prepared teachers are effective factors in the

development of the learners’ knowledge and skills. Therefore, the teacher-training program

should be developed in such way that it leads to the intended educational objectives (Abu-

Zaina, Hassan, Al-Jazzar, 1990).

3.1.1 Facts and Figures of Teachers and Students

In the State of Kuwait the education system consists of kindergarten, primary, middle,

and secondary schools as well as a tertiary system (state-supported colleges/universities).

The number of students, teachers, schools and classrooms in the academic year 1999/2000

at each of these levels is shown in Table 3.1. In elementary education (from age 6 to age

Chapter 340

10) the total number of students was 96,587. Of these 48,317 were females and 48,270

males. The total number of teachers was 7,717. The number of female teachers was 5,525,

that of male teachers was 2,292. The total number of schools was 165, the number of girls’

schools was 79 and of boys’ school 86. The total number of classrooms was 3,257, 1,623

for the girls and 1634for the boys.

In middle schools (from age 10 to age 14) the total number of students was 94,054. Of

these students, 46,602 were females, and 47,452 were males. The total number of teachers

was 8,706, the number of females 5,078 and that of males 3,628. The total number of

middle schools was 146 of which 76 were girls’ schools and 70 boys’ schools. The total

number of classrooms was 3,039, 1,506 for the girls and 1,533 for boys.

In secondary schools (age 14 to age 18) the total number of students was 73,763 of

which 39,692 were females and 34,071 were male students. The total number of teachers

was 8,810. The number of female teachers was 4,777, that of male teachers was 4.033. The

total number of schools was 108, the number of girls' schools was 53 and that of boys'

schools was 55. The total number of classrooms was 1149, 641 for the girls and 508 for the

boys.

In kindergarten (age 4 to age 6) the total number of students was 44,152, the number of

schools 149, the number of classrooms 1,466 and total of teachers 3,012.

The estimated average density of students per class in kindergarten was 28, 30 for

elementary schools, 31 for middle schools, and 29 for remaining secondary schools.

The actual density of the students per class in 1999-2000 was 29.6 in elementary school

and 30.9 in middle schools. In secondary schools, the numbers above do not represent the

actual number of students in each class because of the existence of two systems - the

syllabus system and the 2-semester system in different schools.

In 1997-1998 the number of Kuwaiti teachers in all school levels was 63.4% of the total

number of teachers in Kuwait; about one third were not Kuwaitis. This constitutes a

potential long-term problem and challenge for Kuwait.

For the education of all students in elementary and secondary education about 26,000

teachers are needed. The average number of retired teachers from 1996 to 2,000 is 1192.


They have to be replaced. The total number of vacancies is about 3,000 per year based on

population increases and retirements.

Table 3.1Number of Buildings, Classes, Students and Teachers of Kindergarten, Elementary andSecondary Schools in Kuwait

List Number of

Buildings Classes Students Teachers

Kinder Garden 149 1466 44152 3012

Primary Boys*

Girls

86

79

1634

1623

48270

48317

2292

5525

Intermediate Boys

Girls

70

76

1533

1506

47452

46602

3628

5078

Secondary Boys

Girls

55

53

508

641

34071

39692

4033

4777

Note. * The Number of female Teachers and faculty members in boys schools have beenadded to Primary Girls School. Source: Ministry of Education Statistics for educational year99/2000

3.2 Education in Kuwait

In 1993, Kuwait’s population was highly educated, both in comparison to other states in

the region and in comparison to its "pre-oil" education levels. The education system was

brought about by a government decision, made possible by the revenues from selling oil

that began in the 1950s and invested heavily in human resources.

3.2.1 Historical Background of Education

Although the pre-oil education system was modest by 1993 standards, it was still

substantial, given the limited finances at the time. In the early 1900s, education consisted

largely of Quran schools offering basic literacy training in the context of religious

instruction. This system provided some formal schooling for nearly all boys and most girls.

Wealthy families often sent sons abroad for higher education. In the early decades of the

Chapter 342

twentieth century, merchants anxious for extensive training for their sons opened a few

private schools, notably the Mubarakiyyah School in 1911 and the Ahmadiyyah School in

1921. In the 1930s, merchants established the Education Council and expanded the system

to add four new primary schools, including one for girls. The government soon took over

this growing system and, with new oil revenues after World War II, rapidly expanded the

system. Public education in Kuwait began when the government took control of education

creating 17 schools by 1945. However, education was not made compulsory until oil

production picked up and the commercial export of crude oil that began in 1946. The

government began investing large sums of money in social services, and education was one

of its top priorities. In 1995 for example, the government spent 5.7% of its total GNP on

education equaling more than KD 489.8 million or 8.9% of the total government

expenditures.

In 1956 the government laid down the basis of the education system that still exists:

kindergarten, primary, middle, and secondary schools. By 1960, there were about 45,000

students enrolled in the Kuwaiti educational system, including 18,000 girls. Today, there

are over 300,000 students enrolled in the Kuwaiti school system. A 1965 law made

education compulsory until the age of fourteen. A small system of private schools also

developed. Public education, including preschool and higher education, is free for all

nationals and for many foreigners. The government absorbs not only the costs of schools

but also those of books, uniforms, meals, transportation, and incidental expenses. In pre-

invasion Kuwait in 1990, the majority of the students in the education system were non-

Kuwaitis.

The apex of the public education system is the Kuwait University, which the

government established in 1966. More than half the students at Kuwait University are

women, in part because families are more likely to send boys abroad for study. The

government also subsidizes hundreds of students in university study abroad, many in the

United States of America.

As a result of these efforts, the school population and the literacy rate increased steadily.

By the mid-1980s, literacy and education rates were high. Although only 55 percent of the

citizen population was literate in 1975, by 1985 that percentage had increased to 73.6


percent (84 percent for males and 63.1 percent for females). In 1990 the overall literacy rate

was 73 percent. The total number of teachers increased from fewer than 3,000 at

independence in 1961 to more than 28,000 in the academic year 1988-89; the number of

schools increased from 140 to 642 during the same period.

However, the education system has its problems. For example, it relies heavily on

foreign teachers. In the late 1950s, almost 90 percent were non-Kuwaitis. Despite a long-

standing government effort to “nationalize” education, the system continues to rely heavily

on foreigners. The government’s desire is to have its citizens participate in the execution of

its activities, and therefore, teacher-training institutions were established. As a result, the

number of Kuwaiti teachers increased gradually and it became 63.4% of the total number of

teachers in Kuwait.

3.2.2 Education in the Constitution of Kuwait

Basic laws and regulations governing education in Kuwait are stated in the constitution

of the State of Kuwait (1962). These regulations are stated in the following articles and

laws:

1. Article 10 of Chapter 2: “The State shall care for the young and shall protect them

from abuse as well as from moral, physical and spiritual neglect.”

2. Article 13 of Chapter 2: “Education is a basic component to be provided and

supervised by the State.”

3. Article 40 of Chapter 3: “Education is a right for all citizens to be provided by the

State in accordance with the law and in keeping with the general system and ethics.

Education is compulsory and free of charge in its primary stages, according to the law.” A

memorandum attached to the above article explains that the primary stage includes the

intermediate stage of education after which education should not be compulsory.

4. Law No. (1) of 1965 regarding compulsory education: The law stipulated that

education is compulsory and free of charge for all male and female Kuwaiti children from

the start of the primary level (age 6) to the intermediate or preparatory level. The law

makes it incumbent on the State to provide school premises, books, teachers and all that is

Chapter 344

necessary in terms of human and material means to guarantee the success of compulsory

education.

Law No. (4) of 1987 regarding Public Education: The law is considered the first

legislation providing the general legal framework for public education (education through

the end of the secondary level). All previous legislation was aimed at regulating just one

aspect of the educational system.

This law stressed the constitutional principles governing education in the State of

Kuwait. The first principle is that education is a right of all citizens. The law aims to protect

and develop the young, ensure social progress and is to be provided free of charge to all

citizens by government schools.

3.2.3 Structure and Organization of the Education System

The structure of the education system in the State of Kuwait follows the (4-4-4) model:

four years for the primary level (age 6 to 9), four years for the intermediate (equivalent to

preparatory) (age 10 to 13), and four years for the secondary (age 14-17). This sequence is

preceded by kindergarten (two years).

3.2.4 General Goal of Education in Kuwait

With the aim of establishing uniform objectives for the education system, the Ministry

of Education issued a document in 1979 stating the general objectives of education. The

document defined the starting points for the aims of education, its areas and contents,

maintaining a balance between the culture of society, the requirements of the ages and the

need for continuos development of learning in keeping with the contemporary trends in

education.

The document defined the overall objective of education in the State of Kuwait as

follows:

“To help all learners achieve comprehensive and integrated spiritual, mental, social,

psychological and physical growth to the maximum of their abilities and possibilities; to

enable them to achieve self-fulfillment and to participate in realizing the programs of


Kuwaiti society in particular and those of the Arab and Islamic world, as well as humanity

in general.”

3.3 Teacher Training in the State of Kuwait

In the State of Kuwait, the teacher-training program has been developed and conducted

at two institutions: (a) The College of Education at Kuwait University, and, (b) The College

of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training.

The teacher preparation program in these teacher-training colleges comprises three main

domains: (a) the cultural training preparation; (b) the academic training preparation; and,

(c) the professional (vocational) training preparation (Abo-Zainah et al. 1990).

In the cultural training domain, the students are introduced to philosophy (e.g.,

epistemology, logic and anthropology) and social sciences, together labeled the "human

sciences" and to "physics" (knowledge of nature and metaphysics and the relationships

between them). The students also acquire knowledge about the development of their society

and the environment.

In the domain of formal and empirical sciences, the students are introduced to the

subject content in their field of specialization, and the principles for teaching these subjects.

For the lower grades in elementary schools, the students are trained to teach a class in either

Science (to teach science and mathematics), or Arts (to teach Islamic studies and Arabic

language). For the higher grades in elementary schools, the students can also be trained as a

subject matter teacher for one specific subject. To train for the job, the students take

courses in psychology, evaluation and assessment, teaching methods, foundations of

education, curriculum, development of educational and Islamic ideology, and educational

technology. They engage in practical training throughout their teacher preparation program.

3.3.1 Pre-service Teacher Training in the State of Kuwait

The State of Kuwait has adopted the principle of preparing their teachers in colleges

specializing in teacher training. The programs train the students for the different levels of

education and for the various subjects and special tasks in order to achieve the objectives

and standards that are required by the State. The training is realized in two colleges:

Chapter 346

1. The College of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and

Training prepares kindergarten teachers, and elementary school teachers for Islamic studies,

Arabic Language, Social Studies, Art Education, Physical Education, Science, and

Mathematics. The college also prepares female teachers for middle and secondary level to

teach household education, house economics, interior design, and electricity and use of

electric apparatuses.

2. The College of Education at Kuwait University prepares female teachers for

kindergarten, teachers for elementary school for Arabic Language, Islamic Studies,

Science, and Mathematics, teachers for middle school and teachers for secondary school. In

the later two levels the teachers are prepared for Arabic Language, Islamic Studies, English

Language, Geography, History, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Mathematics,

Chemistry, Biology, Geology, and Physics.

The teacher-training program in these colleges is based on an integrated system that

includes courses for training in the cultural, academic, vocational, and professional

domains. The duration of study is four years equivalent to eight semesters. The number of

study hours is around 15 hours per week in a semester. Each semester lasts for 14 weeks.

The faculties accept applicants who have graduated from the secondary school level.

3.3.2 The Development of the Teacher Training in Kuwait

The development of teacher training in the State of Kuwait can be described in terms of

three main features (Al-Deeb, 1997):

1. Duration: the first plan of the teacher training program, in 1962, required four years of

study for the completion of the program for those who completed the middle school level.

Later, the teacher-training program was modified to two years study for those who finished

the secondary school level. Now, teacher-training program consists of four years study for

graduates of the secondary schools. The teacher preparation program is being conducted at

Kuwait University and the College of Basic Education.

2. Department and College: The development of the vocational training of the teacher in

Kuwait University was first organized as a department, related to the Department of

Psychology in the College of Art and Education at Kuwait University. Then the Department


of Education was formed, separate from the Department of Psychology. In 1980, the

College of Education was founded and students were assigned to this school starting from

the academic year 1981/1982.

3. Research: The third development in the teacher training program is found in the

research that has been conducted in order to evaluate and develop the educational program

in general and more specifically on the teacher preparation program.

Comparing the teacher training in the State of Kuwait with other countries such as

Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom (England and Wales), and the United States of

America, Al-Deeb (1997) described the similarities and the differences of the teacher

training programs. He found the following similarities:

1. In Kuwait the teacher preparation program for all school levels (elementary, middle,

and secondary) is organized at the university level. The program requires at least four years

of study for those graduating from secondary schools.

2. The course program includes three domains that should be integrated: (a) the cultural

domain, (b) the academic domain, and (c) the educational (vocational) domain.

3. Both systems of teacher training that exist in the State of Kuwait - College of

Education (Kuwait University), and College of Basic Education (PAAET) - are similar to

the systems that exist in the countries that participated in the study.

4. The admission policy requires the student to complete the secondary school level.

5. There are three types of programs to train the teachers for the three school levels: -

elementary, middle, and secondary.

6. Practical training is being considered and included in the teacher preparation program.

The differences between the teacher-training program in the State of Kuwait and the

other countries can be found in the following aspects:

1. The duration of the teacher-training program in Kuwait is four years; while it was

extended to five to six years in the other countries.

2. The program in Kuwait does not include one-year continuos practical field training

after graduation, which is a requirement in programs in many other countries.

3. There is a gap between the knowledge and skills acquired in the pre-service teacher

training program and the competency that is required in the school. This is because in the

Chapter 348

training program the theories are emphasized, without considering the relationships

between the content of these courses and the required knowledge and skills in the teaching

profession.

3.4 Historical Development of the Teacher Education at the College of Basic Education,

Public Authority for Applied Education

3.4.1 First Attempts

Early attempts were undertaken in Kuwait in 1949, 1953, and 1954 to train teachers for

primary education among Kuwaiti citizens. (Al-Hamad, Behbahani & Al-Shargawi, 1995).

The goal of the program was to train citizens of the State of Kuwait as teachers for

elementary education. It was supposed that Kuwaiti citizens were more capable of

understanding their environment, the nature of the people and the psychological and social

characteristics of their children. Therefore, the teacher training classes were attached to

schools for general education. The response was limited since the attempts were still tepid

and hesitant.

3.4.2 The Start for Female Students

A teacher institute (for females) was established in 1953-1954. A female, who

completed the elementary level, could be enrolled in this institute to be trained as a teacher

in girls’ schools. The duration of the preparation in the institute was 3 years after the

completion of elementary school level. The first group graduated in the academic year

1955-1956.

The curriculum of the institute was modified in 1957. It comprised general subjects to be

taught in elementary school, such as Arabic language, Islamic studies, Science and

Mathematics. The prerequisite for enrollment in this institute was the completion of the

middle school level. The students in this institute had to study general subjects in all

academic domains. They were trained to teach one class from kindergarten or classes of

elementary school in all domains.

The teacher institute attracted more females than males, because the teaching profession


was the only available and suitable profession for females in those days. In 1956-1957, the

percentage of Kuwaiti male teachers was 11% of all male teachers, and that of female

Kuwaiti teachers was 4% of all female teachers. All other teachers came from different

Arabic countries.

3.4.3 Teacher Institute (1962-1973)

The first serious attempt to train citizens of Kuwait as teachers was made in 1962 and

1972. It was started by establishing the Teacher Institute for preparing male teachers for the

elementary school level and the Teacher Institute for preparing female teachers for the

kindergarten and elementary school level. The duration of the program in these two

institutes was four years and the enrollment was for those finishing middle school. The

program consisted of the academic and educational domains. The two institutes were closed

in 1973-1974.

3.4.4 "Teacher Dar" (1969-1973)

The Ministry of Education established two institutions in 1968-1969 to train teachers for

the middle school level. The two “Teacher Dar” for males and females were founded to

train teachers for teaching Arabic Language, English Language, Science, Mathematics, Art,

and Household (for females only) to teach middle school children. The students had to be

graduates from the secondary school level in order to be admitted to this institution. The

duration of the study was two years. The two “Teacher Dar” were closed in 1973-1974,

because the teacher-training program for middle school was transferred to the Kuwait

University.

3.4.5 Teacher Education Institute (1972-1978)

In 1969 a committee was formed to study the policy of the teacher-training program.

The committee came out with two main suggestions:

1. The education of the teachers for middle and secondary schools should be conducted

at the university. The duration of the program should be four years after the completion of

secondary school.

Chapter 350

2. The duration of the program of teacher preparation for the elementary schools should

be two years after the completion of the secondary school. So, in 1972-1973 two new

Teacher Education Institutes replaced the Teacher Institute to train the teachers for the

elementary school level. The duration of the program was two years after the completion of

the secondary school. At the same time, in 1971, the Department of Education conducted

the program of the teacher preparation for middle and secondary schools at Kuwait

University. The duration of this program was four years after the completion of the

secondary school.

The aim of the Teacher Education Institute was to train teachers to teach in two main

domains: 1) Arts: to train teachers for Arabic Language, Islamic Religion, and Social

Subjects in elementary school; 2) Science: to train teachers for Science subject and

Mathematics. The system in this institution was the traditional academic year system until

1976-1977. In 1977-1978 the system was changed to the unit system and students have to

complete 68 units.

3.4.6 College of Teacher Education (1978-1986)

In 1976-1977, a committee that of experts in various fields reviewed the teacher-training

program. The committee members were from Kuwait University, Faculties of the Teacher

Education Institute, The Research and Curriculum Center, Representatives from

Kindergarten and Elementary Education Department in The Ministry of Education,

Authorities from The Technical and Vocational Education, and from a number of

Administrations in The Ministry of Education. The Committee reached some substantial

decisions. The “credit hour” system was applied to the academic year, requiring 68 credit

hours for graduation. One credit hour is counted as one hour per week. Each semester

includes 14 weeks. The student’s load is around 15 credits per semester. Moreover, a

variety of subjects were offered in order to satisfy the needs of the development of the State

and the labor market. In this year, two new specialized fields were developed in the College

of Teacher Education, - Kindergarten and Library science. Gradually, other fields of

specialization were developed:

1. 1978-1979. Art and Physical Education.


2. 1981-1982. Educational Technology

3. 1981-1982. Household Economy.

4. 1982-1983. Training Studies in Electronics and Interior Design, preparing teachers for

the middle school level.

5. 1985-1986. The subjects of the electronic field were changed to those of the Electrical

field.

Two distinctive steps were then taken in 1981 and 1986. In 1981 the College of

Education in Kuwait University was established. The College of basic Education was

established in 1986-1987.

3.4.7 College of Basic Education (1986)

In September 1986, the two Colleges of Education for males and females were upgraded

to a College of Basic Education with a four-year program (eight semesters). After finishing

the program the students received a Bachelor of Arts degree. The training program of the

College of Basic Education is divided into three domains of training:

1. The cultural training domain, comprising 48 credits covers 38% of the program.

2. The domain of formal and empirical sciences, comprising 40 credits which covers

32% of the program.

3. The professional and vocational training domain, comprising 38 credits covers 30% of

the program.

Chapter 352

Table 3.2Main Features of Teacher Training Institutes in Kuwait

Type of education Years opened Students’ age Duration Require-ments

School levelteacher

From To From To

Teacher Institute 1962 1973 14 18 4 years Middle Elementary

Teacher Dar 1969 1973 18 20 2 years Secondary Middle

Teacher EducationInstitute

1972 1978 18 20 2 years Secondary Elementary

Department ofEducation: KuwaitUniversity

1971 1980 18 22 4 years Secondary Middle andSecondary

College of TeacherEducation: PAAET

1978 1986 18 20 2 years Secondary Elementaryand Middle

College of BasicEducation: PAAET.

1986 18 22 4 years Secondary Elementaryand Middle

College of Education:Kuwait University

1981 18 22 4 years Secondary All levels

3.5 The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training

3.5.1 The Foundation of PAAET

The roots of applied education and systematic training in Kuwait date back more than

half a century, beginning with the start of oil exploration, production and exportation

activities. With the completion of the infrastructure of the educational system and the

increasing demand for technical labor, the Ministry of Education established several

specialized technical schools, including the Teachers Institute, the Industrial College, the

Commercial Secondary School, and the Technical Secondary School for girls. At the same

time different ministries established specialized training centers. Examples are the Institute

of Applied Engineering (affiliated to the Ministry of Public Works), the

Telecommunication Institute (affiliated to the Ministry of Post, Telegram, and Telephone),

the Industrial Training Center belonging to the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Labor

and other specialized training centers.

The Department of Technical and Vocational Education was established in the

beginning of the year 1972 with a mandate to supervise the institutes and schools of


technical and vocational education. It was affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The

Central Training Department was set up to supervise the training centers and institutes

affiliated to other state ministries.

The development of technical and vocational education on one hand, and of training on

other hand, continued until the state felt the necessity of establishing an independent

centralized authority to supervise and plan its programs. As a result, the Public Authority

for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) was established on December 28th, 1982 to

fulfill this objective. According to its regulations, PAAET is comprised of two sectors:

Applied Education (formerly technical and vocational Education) and Training (formerly

Central Training Department).

3.5.2 Objectives and Policies of the Authority

The main objective of the Authority is to provide and develop a national labor force to

meet the shortage in the national technical labor force and to meet the development

requirements of the nation. Its fundamental philosophy holds that the Kuwaiti individual

represents the real permanent wealth of the nation. Inspired by the goal and the philosophy,

the Authority - since its establishment - has defined its objectives clearly, and divided them

into three categories: long term, five year plan, and short term, for different sectors. These

objectives are centered on three main aims:

The Authority endeavors to fulfill in agreement with its mandate the need to develop a

skilled technical labor force.

1. The Authority endeavors to continue to increase its capacity and capabilities in order

to be able to accomplish its responsibilities in the future in a productive manner.

2. The Authority continues to increase the effectiveness of its systems and staff in order

to raise the standard of their efficiency in achieving the main purpose of its mandate.

3.5.3 Activities and Functions of the Authority

The activities and functions of the authority are classified into the following three main

aspects:

The major activity of the Authority consists of offering applied education and training

Chapter 354

programs. It is divided into two main sections: (a) applied education programs offered by

the four colleges of the Authority and supervised by the applied education sectors; and, (b)

various other diversified training programs supervised by the training sector.

1. Administrative, financial and service activities aimed at serving the activities of the

authority.

2. Additional activities are aimed at providing an appropriate academic environment,

raising the efficiency of educational and training operation, and strengthening the link

between the labor market and institutions of the society related to the main activity of the

authority. The additional activities comprise applied research activity, vocational

development programs for teaching and training staff as well as other activities and

functions.

The Authority’s activities and programs include two main sectors: the Applied

Education Sector and the Training Sector. Each of these sectors comprises different

colleges and institutes for different fields. The Applied Education sector includes the

College of Basic Education, the College of Business Studies, the College of Health

Science, and the College of Technical Studies. The Training sector includes the

Telecommunication & Navigation Institute, the Electricity & Water Training Institute, the

Industrial Training Institute, and the Nursing Institute. The teacher education program is

conducted in the College of Basic Education.

3.6 College of Basic Education at PAAET

The College of Basic Education is one of the colleges related to the Applied Education

Sector. The goal of this college is to educate future teachers for kindergarten and

elementary schools in Kuwait, teachers for some subjects in the middle and secondary

school, as well as other technical qualified staff who play a role in achieving educational

objectives.

3.6.1 Objectives of the College

The objective of The College of Basic Education is to educate and train teachers who are

able to fulfill the demand and needs of the State of Kuwait for: (a) female teachers for


kindergarten; and, for (b) both male and female teachers for Islamic studies, Arabic

language, Science, Mathematics, Art Education, Physical and Sport Education, and Social

studies for the primary schools. The College also trains female teachers of interior design

(decoration), electricity and use of electrical apparatus, and home economics for the middle

schools. In addition, the college trains specialists for libraries and educational technology to

work in Education Centers in schools and other organizations. Moreover, the college trains

female students for Music Education for jobs in kindergarten and elementary schools.

The course requirements of the College of Basic Education’s program are calculated

according to the credit hour system. One credit hour means one hour of class per week. One

week includes around 15 hours of instruction. One semester includes 14 weeks. The total

requirement is calculated for eight semesters, during which time the student should earn

130 credits. There is an optional intensive summer "semester" which lasts 7 weeks. In

addition students spend a complete semester in applied education and school training in

their area of specialization, which is planned to enhance their vocational and social

expertise that is required for practicing their profession.

Today, the College of Basic education is well organized and offers an integrated

program of academic, cultural, and vocational and professional training. The need for

teachers with different specializations for elementary education in the State of Kuwait can

thus be fulfilled.

3.6.2 Organization of the College

The College of Basic Education is administered by a dean and two assistant deans. The

assistant deans are responsible for academic management and financial affairs. The College

has 15 departments covering: Islamic Studies, Arabic Language, Science, Educational

Technology, Art Education, Physical Education, Interior Design, Library and Information

Science, Social Studies, Music Education, Curriculum, House Economics, Educational

Foundation and Management, Mathematics, and Psychology.

Chapter 356

3.6.3 Numbers of Staff and Graduates of the College of Basic Education

The number of the staff is shown in Table 3.3 and the number of graduates is shown in

Table 3.4.

Table 3.3

Number of Staff in the College of Basic Education

Year Citizen Kuwaiti Non Kuwaiti

1985/1986 95 171

1989/1990 113 161

1995/1996 129 145

Table 3.4

Number of Graduates from the College of Basic Education

Academic Year College of Basic Education

Male Female

1982/83 292 481

1983/84 394 517

1984/85 260 575

1985/86 211 543

1986/87 234 745

1987/88 161 303

1988/89 111 151

1989/90 77 317

1990/91 The year of Iraqi invasion

1991/92 204 813

1992/93 267 933

1993/94 265 881

1994/95 300 1062

1995/96 314 778

Total 3091 8099


3.7 The College of Education at Kuwait University

3.7.1 Historical Background

For a long time, the Kuwait society has deeply felt the need for the establishment of a

College of Education. Kuwait believed that education and educational renewal was the

foundation for all aspects of civilization.

In 1955, the President of the Council of Education (The old name of Ministry of

Education) commissioned the first report on education in Kuwait. The report recommended

that in 1960 a Teacher Training College similar to those in Iraq or Egypt should be

established to train teachers for intermediate and secondary schools. This, however, was not

realized. The authorities started thinking of the feasibility of establishing a university in

Kuwait. A committee of experts was formed for this purpose. In its report it recommended

that the nucleus of a university in Kuwait should be established. Because of the strong need

for qualified Kuwaitis in all professions, especially in the areas of teaching, business and

administration, the report suggested that a university should be established. The report

noted that the nucleus of the university should contain a teacher training college. As a

consequence the Kuwait Government formed a temporary committee for the university in

1961.

The report of mission of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(1961-1963) emphasized the strong need for a body of well-educated personnel in the areas

of administration, business, education and other professions. It recommended that “ a four-

year post-secondary teacher training college should be established as one of the first

colleges in the proposed university”. In 1965, the Cabinet decided to establish two teacher

training colleges, one for women and one for men. Consequently, in April 1966 a law

regarding higher education in Kuwait was promulgated (Decree No.29, 1966) establishing

the College of Arts, Science and Education and the Women’s College. The men’s college

and women’s college have same programs but they are located in different buildings. The

Department of Education and Psychology was related to the College of Arts.

Chapter 358

3.7.2 Department of Education

In 1971, the College of Arts, Science and Education was divided into the College of

Science with separate Departments of Education and Psychology. The Department of

Education was responsible for training teachers for middle and secondary schools. In 1971,

it implemented a program for the General Diploma in Education. The program was

available to university degree-holders in fields other than education to become teachers.

Between 1972-1976, for the first time the Department of Education offered programs

leading to a special diploma in Education that the students could take during their study in

the university to be trained as teachers. The Department of Education continued to train

students for teachers of middle and secondary schools until the end of the academic year

1980-1981.

The education of teachers for the primary schools was the responsibility of the Ministry

of Education and specifically of PAAET. The developments in education and the desire for

further improvement of the qualities of the teachers, both professionally and academically,

motivated the State of Kuwait to adopt new requirements for the training of teachers. One

of the important decisions was to propose the minimum period for preparing teachers for all

kinds of schools to four years. This led the educational authorities in The Ministry of

Education and the staff of the Department of Education in Kuwait University to undertake

studies regarding the establishment of the College of Education to train teachers from the

kindergarten to the secondary levels.

3.7.3 College of Education

In 1975, the Ministry of Education submitted a report proposing that two colleges of

education be established, one for women, and another for men. The Department of

Education, which was related to the College of Arts at Kuwait University at this time,

supported this suggestion. On December 24, 1975, the University Council formed a

committee to study this subject. The committee’s report emphasized the need for the

establishment of a separate College of Education. On May 20th, 1976, the University

Council formed a joint committee from the university and other institutions to plan the

executive steps for the establishment of a College of Education. On October 9, 1977 the


rector of the university formed the planning committee for the College of Education. On

May 17, 1980, the Eimiri Decree ordering the establishment of the College of Education

was issued. The College of Education at Kuwait University was established on May 17,

1980. However, the college did not open its doors for admission until September 1, 1981.

The study in the faculty started with 399 students and in the 1984-1985 academic year the

first group of sixty-four students graduated.

3.7.4 General Objectives of the College of Education

The primary goal of the College of Education is to develop theories in the domain of

education, and methods to solve educational problems. The second goal is to serve the State

of Kuwait with providing the manpower for the domain of education in such a way that the

Arabic and Islamic roots of the society are respected and strengthened.

The education of teachers, based in educational science and technology, was therefore

necessary, and made one of the main targets of the State of Kuwait. The staff of the College

of Education used a long period of reflection to develop a new program and sometimes for

revising and reconsidering the ideas. This resulted in a new and fresh program for the

college that met international standards. The college believed in the importance of

continuous development in order to keep pace with the new trends in the teacher education

programs, fulfilling demands and needs of students to learn. Therefore, the faculty has

evaluated the major objectives and curricula of the teacher education programs. In 1985 the

program for training students for kindergarten teachers was separated from the program for

training students for elementary school teacher. New curricula were introduced. In addition,

the college established the Instructional Development Center to stimulate research,

translation and writing activities.

The College of Education aims at providing manpower, developing scientific research

and exploiting its results, and serving the Kuwaiti society in the educational field by

supporting the society’s principles and its Arabic and Islamic roots. The college attempts to

achieve these objectives by offering programs in the different domains of the whole

educational field.

To provide qualified manpower in the educational fields the college developed programs

Chapter 360

to train teachers for all school levels from kindergarten to secondary education, a program

of continuous education for teachers, and a program to train administration personnel and

supervisors in different areas of specialization. In addition, the college trains specialists in

educational research, curriculum construction and development, educational technology,

evaluation and educational measurement, psychology and educational guidance, adult

education, special education and other areas in accordance with the needs of the society.

For solving educational problems, the college promotes and supports educational

research and the exploitation of its results. The college provides necessary resources and

facilities for the advancement of educational research including manpower as well as

financial and field facilities. It encourages faculty members for individual or team research

and for the supervision of masters’ and doctors’ theses. Moreover, the college attempts to

collaborate in the field of educational research with educational institutions at the local, the

gulf, the Arab world, and at an international level.

The college attempts to meet the needs of the society in the field of educational services

and other areas of social activities related to education by the cooperation with the Ministry

of Education. The College contributes to the activities of continuous education, and

participates in the development of the university message and the upgrading of its level of

performance.

3.7.5 Programs of the College of Education

The College of Education at Kuwait University trains teachers for jobs in kindergarten,

elementary, middle, and secondary schools. It trains teachers for the elementary level for

Arabic language, Islamic studies, Social Studies, Science and Mathematics. The college

trains teachers for teaching in middle and secondary schools the subjects of Art and

Science. The Art subjects include Arabic language, English language, History, Geography,

Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology, and Islamic studies, whereas, the Science subjects

include Mathematics, Biology, Geology, Chemistry, and Physics.

The college is planning to develop a program for new subjects such as Art Education,

Library Knowledge and Learning Resources, Computer Science, Home Economics, Special

Education, Information and Communication Technology and Educational Technology. In


addition, the college established the master’s program in Curriculum and Teaching

Methods in the academic year 1995-1996 and aims at establishing a Ph.D. program.

3.7.6 Organization of the College of Education

The dean and three assistant deans lead the College of Education. The assistant deans are

responsible for the academic and higher studies, the research, consultations and training,

and the students and financial affairs respectively. The College has 4 departments. They

cover Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, Educational Foundations, and

Educational Administration. In addition, there are 5 Educational Centers in the college to

serve the academic programs. These are the Educational Technology Center, the

Instructional Development Center, the Student Teaching Center, the Guidance and

Counseling Office, and the Psychological Counseling Unit.

3.7.7 Number of staff and graduates of the College of Education

The number of staff is shown in Table 3.5.and the number of the graduates and programs

are shown in Table 3.6

Table 3.5Number of Staff in the College of Education

Year Kuwaiti Non Kuwaiti Total

1992-1993 44 12 56

1993-1994 47 10 57

1994-1995 49 19 68

1995-1996 55 16 71

1996-1997 59 19 78

1887-1998 67 21 88

1998-1999 65 17 82

1999-2000 67 16 83

2000-2001 70 14 84

Chapter 362

Table 3.6Number of Graduates from the College of Education

Specialization 84/85 85/86 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90

M F M F M F M F M F M F

Kindergarten & Elementary

Kindergarten -- 11 -- 37 -- 46 -- 8 -- 8 -- 11

Arabic Language 1 -- 10 9 7 29 8 22 2 6 -- 7

Islamic Studies 5 3 12 8 8 28 9 9 -- 1 1 9

Social Studies 2 4 7 12 8 11 4 4 5 2 -- 1

Science & Mathematics 5 2 34 33 32 53 13 29 7 9 3 34

Middle & Secondary/ Art.

Arabic Language 2 2 10 6 17 32 4 31 3 55 -- 42

English Language -- 5 11 37 4 42 7 82 1 89 5 86

History 2 2 4 11 10 8 9 14 7 -- 4 1

Geography 2 3 14 18 30 32 24 9 21 1 9 1

Psychology 2 1 16 14 12 21 15 6 9 3 8 --

Philosophy -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 3 -- -- -- --

Sociology -- -- 7 1 13 12 9 9 6 -- 1 --

Islamic Studies 5 3 13 3 12 30 20 88 20 173 17 123

Middle & Secondary/Science

Mathematics -- -- 1 15 4 11 5 21 2 41 1 31

Biology -- 1 -- 4 1 13 -- 9 1 23 -- 14

Geology -- -- -- -- 1 -- 1 -- -- 5 -- 5

Chemistry -- -- -- -- 1 4 -- 4 2 8 -- 3

Physics -- -- -- -- -- 1 4 -- -- 2 -- --

Sum 26 38 139 211 160 385 132 348 87 426 56 368

Total 64 350 518 480 513 424


Table 3.6Continued

Specialization 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97

M F M F M F M F M F M F

Kindergarten & Elementary

Kindergarten -- 31 -- 52 -- 36 -- 80 -- 58 -- 19

Arabic Language 1 15 1 13 -- 9 2 18 6 13 4 9

Islamitic Studies 3 15 1 15 1 15 6 56 16 68 3 24

Social Studies 1 2 1 6 -- 1 -- -- -- -- -- --

Science & Mathematics 9 45 9 30 31 69 20 59 19 52 5 15

Middle & Secondary/ Art.

Arabic Language -- 45 7 41 -- 17 7 33 10 37 4 18

English Language 4 30 1 23 -- 23 2 24 1 42 1 39

History 11 1 4 4 2 10 3 8 12 18 6 11

Geography -- 4 4 6 3 2 4 5 7 13 4 21

Psychology 12 6 6 20 5 22 7 38 9 64 4 16

Philosophy -- 1 -- -- -- -- -- 2 1 1 -- --

Sociology 2 1 2 5 2 8 1 7 2 29 5 7

Islamic Studies 11 73 13 65 5 49 11 57 9 99 7 55

Middle & Secondary/Science

Mathematics 1 49 1 55 3 64 -- 58 2 58 -- 30

Biology 3 25 1 27 -- 16 3 22 1 29 1 12

Geology 1 3 -- 3 -- 6 -- 2 1 6 -- 2

Chemistry 2 4 -- 7 -- 6 -- 3 -- 6 -- 7

Physics -- 2 -- -- -- 2 -- -- -- 2 -- 1

Sum 73 352 56 372 34 358 66 472 96 595 44 286

Total 425 428 392 583 691 330

3.8 Future Prospects

The development of the teachers’ knowledge and skills is a crucial factor in the

development of the educational system. Though the State of Kuwait is conducting a well-

designed teacher education program, there are various problems that might interfere with

attaining the ultimate goal of the teacher preparation in Kuwait. First, there is a problem

Chapter 364

regarding the deficit in the number of Kuwaiti teachers to cover all subjects in all school

levels. This problem is attributed to the early retirement of Kuwaiti teachers and

administrators, especially among women, who mostly retire between 30-40 due to the

pension scheme, which gives them the full right to retire after a short service period (15

years). This phenomenon is common among married women, and in some disciplines such

as Arabic language and Arts. Simultaneously, the availability of numerous job

opportunities until the 1980s, and the dissatisfaction with the teacher’s “social status” led

Kuwaiti youth, especially men to abstain from joining a teaching profession. However,

after the mid 1980s such attitudes began to change since government employment

opportunities were no longer as available as they had been earlier.

Second, the existence of the two teacher preparation institutes, the College of Basic

Education and College of Education, might cause some problems in the teacher-training

program in Kuwait. In most of their programs, they train teachers to teach the same subjects

at the same level. The relationships between these institutions should be developed and

strengthened. The teacher training programs of the two colleges should collaborate with

each other, the specialization field should be distributed (divided) between them to cover

the need for teachers in most or all subjects at all levels. Moreover, the requirements for the

acceptance of the candidate teachers to join the program in both institutions should be

similar and be at the same level.

Third, the shortage of Kuwaiti teachers led Kuwait to employ large number of teachers

from other countries, mostly Arabic. This condition increased government responsibilities

and required certain steps to be taken to support foreign teachers. For example, programs in

the academic and vocational domain had to be developed to introduce the foreign teachers

to Kuwaiti society and its characteristics, to the educational goal and objectives of the

education in Kuwait, and to the curriculum and teaching methods which are used in

Kuwait.

The fourth type of problems that constrain the development of the educational system in

Kuwait is related to the tasks to be performed by the personnel involved in the teaching

profession. The subject matter experts who also have to supervise the performance of the

teachers at all school levels do not have sufficient time to develop the content of the


subject, the teaching processes and the sufficient supervision for teachers. Therefore, in-

service teachers are deprived from technical support and from an opportunity of a fair

evaluation of their efforts. In addition, there is no cooperation between the subject matter

experts and instructional designer to perform such tasks. Dijkstra and van Merriënboer

(1997) explained the tasks that should be performed by subject matter experts, instructional

designers and teachers in an educational setting. Subject-matter experts will detail the goals

for instructional objectives and exam requirements, and instructional designers develop

instructional plans that specify how instruction will be provided, which acquisition

processes and approaches are appropriate, and in which sequence instructional units will be

provided. Teachers then conduct the instruction which supports the acquisition process.

Financial and social support should be developed to encourage young people for the

teacher profession. A new teacher cadre should be formed which takes into consideration

the social and financial aspects that enhance the social status of teachers so as to overcome

the high drop-out and attrition rates of teachers. The fundamental here is to make the

teaching profession attractive in order to compete with other professions. The students in

the teacher education program should be directed and encouraged to some scientific

specialization, especially in secondary schools to meet the need in these fields.

Finally, a crucial problem is related to the development of teachers’ knowledge and

skills. In the practical administration of the teacher preparation program, the three basic

domains, cultural, formal and empirical, and vocational (professional) are not integrated in

teaching the courses of the program (Abu-Zaina et al., 1990). For an effective teacher

preparation program, the people who teach those courses should realize the relationships

between the courses within the domain or other domains.

These are some of the problems constraining the development of teacher education in

the state of Kuwait. These problems need to be solved by practical and scientific solutions

and by conducting empirical and scientific studies. The next chapter reports the results of a

case study that was addressed to address some of these problems.

Chapter 366

Instructional technology and subject matter content 67

CHAPTER 4.

THE INTEGRATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY PRINCIPLES AND

SUBJECT MATTER CONTENT: A SURVEY.

4.1 Introduction

An instruction is a message between an expert (teacher) and a novice (learner). The

message is transported from the expert to the learner by a medium. Originally, the medium

was human voice and gestures. Later images and pictographic representations were used,

and still later, written messages and pictures (as representations of reality) were used. Then

information carriers such as parchment and paper became common. One meaning of the

word ‘medium’ refers to these information carriers or storage mechanisms. The production

of instructional materials involves the construction of instructional messages for a certain

subject. Instructional messages typically include a representation of the objects of the

reality involved in pictures, schema, and models, as well as a representation of the

conception (knowledge) about these. When the message is put into a medium, a set of

technical rules are applied (choice for letters, enlarging, technical rules for the use of

colors, and so on). One main goal of students in a teacher education college is to learn

(understand) how to design instructional messages for a particular subject. One of the

derived goals is how to put the message on an information carrier (blackboard, paper,

celluloid, chip) to be used and possibly reused. The students should first conceive the

instruction and then decide which information carrier is appropriate and how perceptible

features of the instruction on the information carrier (both the represented objects and the

associated conceptions) will guide the students' attention and learning. When teacher

preparation students cannot make adequate instructional messages, their professional

knowledge and skill as teachers are arbitrarily restricted. Their performance on a task

necessary to their future as teachers, the task of producing effective instructional messages,

suffers as a consequence.

For the production of appropriate instructional materials teachers have to understand the

message (a content of a subject) that contains different types of problems (objectives), the

Chapter 468

teaching of this message and the characteristics of an appropriate medium (information

carrier). They then can select a proper medium that will represent the message. Finally they

can produce it and use that instructional message.

Therefore, the teachers’ task here is to select and use a proper medium, and develop

instructional materials for a subject. Instruction without an information carrying medium is

impossible.

4.2 Domains of the Teacher Education Program

The teacher education program of the State of Kuwait comprises subjects in three

domains. For each domain several courses are developed. The three domains are (a) culture,

(b) the formal and empirical sciences, and (c) professional and vocational training (Abo-

Zainah, Hassan, & Al-Jazzar, 1990). The curriculum takes four years of study.

4.2.1 The Culture Domain

In the cultural education domain, the students are introduced to philosophy (e.g.

epistemology, logic and anthropology) and the social sciences, together labeled the "human

sciences”, and to "physics" (knowledge of nature and metaphysics and the relationships

between these). The students also acquire knowledge about the development of their

society and environment. In most Arabic Gulf countries, the subjects of these domains are

derived mainly from the human sciences, the social sciences, and physics. Teachers have to

study all of these.

4.2.2 The Domains of the Formal and Empirical Sciences

In the academic training domain, the teachers are introduced to the content of the

subjects according to their field of specialization and to the principles of teaching these

subjects. For the lower grades of elementary schools in Kuwait the students of the teacher

training college are trained for coaching a class in both Science and Mathematics or Arts.

The Arts include Islamic studies and Arabic language.

For the upper grades in elementary school, student teacher also can be trained as a

subject matter teacher who teaches one specific subject.


4.2.3 The Vocational (Professional) Domain

To prepare for their jobs as vocational teachers, students take courses in psychology,

evaluation and assessment, teaching methods, foundations of education, curriculum,

development of educational and Islamic ideology, and educational technology. They also

engage in practical training.

4.3 Problems of the Curriculum

The course content of these three main domains should be presented in such way that the

students can integrate the content (across specific topics and subject areas) and use the

integrated knowledge in teaching situations. The problem, however, is that the courses in

each of these domains are presented and studied separately and the relationships between

the content of these courses are not presented to and discussed with the students. This

makes it difficult to teacher trainees to integrate the content into a coherent body of

knowledge. Teaching the courses as separate pieces of (information) knowledge does not

clarify the relationships between the content areas and may possibly prevent students from

getting an insight into these relationships, whether within the same domain or between

different domains. Moreover, the importance of the courses for developing the students’

knowledge and skills of teaching has not been clarified to them. Therefore, the students

express their concern and inquire of the teachers the reasons for studying these courses and

the benefits of these courses for their teaching jobs.

An effective teacher-training program comprises courses from different domains and

develops and integrates the students’ knowledge and skills in such a way that these can be

used for teaching. For example, the content of the courses in instructional technology

comprises information in instructional communications, utilization of media in teaching

and learning, integration of media in the plan for the instructions, various types of media

and their characteristics and the selection and production of instructional materials. The

content is not integrated with related courses, such as subject matter content, teaching

methods, and so on. Most topics in instructional technology are about technology as such,

rather than providing experience in using and integrating technology with the curriculum

(Faison, 1996). In Faison's inventory the students reported that they did not have systematic

Chapter 470

exposure to or integration of technology in their teacher preparation programs. Therefore,

as teachers they will not be able to utilize the media (technology) in their teaching.

Moreover, pre-service teachers will perceive instructional technology courses as irrelevant

to the teaching process (Balli, Wright, & Foster, 1997).

Al-Habeeb (1992) found that in the State of Kuwait the in-service teachers did not

receive proper training on media selection and use. In his study he found that 20.5% of the

kindergarten teachers of the schools that were located in the Capital and Hawally

educational areas agreed that they did not get the proper training on selecting and using

media. Whereas 32.3% of the teachers for the same grades in the Al-Jahra and Al-Ahmadi

educational areas agreed that they did not get proper training on selecting and using media

in their teaching.

The students in the teacher education program in the State of Kuwait have to acquire and

practice instructional technology principles. The instructional technology course is one of

the core courses that all students have to study. The course content consists primarily of the

theoretical basis of instructional technology and the students are trained on the design and

production of instructional materials, which are then put on media as information carriers,

such as transparences, educational boards, slide series, video production and so on.

In teaching, the teachers have to apply the principles of different domains, such as

psychology and instructional technology to the construction of instructional messages and

then put these messages on information carriers such as paper and other media. They

further have to apply rules for evaluation and assessment, and apply all of this in an

integrative manner. In the teacher education program, the principles of different domains

should be presented and integrated in order to develop the teachers’ capabilities and

competencies in teaching.

The remarks the students sometimes make about the lack of integration of the contents

of the different courses do not yield a complete overview of their opinions and attitudes

about their usefulness in the teacher education program. Therefore the decision was made

to survey these. The purpose of the survey is to find the students' opinions about the

relevant principles of the courses and whether they were clarified and integrated.


The pre-service teachers who took the course Production of Instructional Materials were

requested to answer the questionnaire about the content and process of presenting this

course to them. This course is listed under the educational (vocational) domain and

considered as a core course that all pre- service teachers have to study.

The course on Production of Instructional Materials includes the instructional-design

principles. The course is taught to the students in the College of Basic Education in the

State of Kuwait. Based on the students’ comments it is supposed that the content of this

course does not pay attention to the basic principles of other - related – domains. The

students practice the production techniques for putting the instructions on (instructional)

media separate from the principles of other related domains. In order to determine the

students' opinions about the content and the teaching method of the course of Production of

Instructional Materials, a questionnaire was administered. As mentioned before, any course

in a teacher-training program should be presented in an integrated manner with respect to

related courses.

It is assumed, therefore, that the content of the course of Production of Instructional

Materials should include the principles of other courses whether in the same domain (e.g.,

teaching method, educational psychology) or from other domains (e.g., subject matter,

educational goals). These principles should be presented in an integrative way, such that the

student can use them in teaching.

4.4 Method

4.4.1 Participants

Fifty-six female and seventeen male students of The College of Basic Education in the

State of Kuwait were administered the questionnaire. The students were enrolled in the

teacher-training program. All students had just completed the course on Production of

Instructional Materials. The students’ ages were between 19-22 years.

4.4.2 Materials

A questionnaire for measuring student attitudes and opinions on the course of

Production of Instructional Materials was developed (Appendix A). The questionnaire

Chapter 472

consisted of 42 questions of which 32 questions can be answered on a four-point likert

scale and 10 are yes or no questions. In addition, the students were given the opportunity to

write any additional comments in the questionnaire. The students’ answers were scored

from 1 to 4 which corresponded with strongly agree to strongly disagree on the four-point

scale questions and from 1 to 2 in the yes and no questions.

4.4.3 Procedure

The questionnaire was administered to three groups of participants, two groups of

female students and one group of male students. The questionnaire was administered to

them in separate sessions. These were during the sessions that were held for teaching the

course Production of Instructional Materials. The sessions were randomly selected.

Because of the large number of the students who are taking the course on Production of

Instructional Materials in the same semester, they are assigned to many groups that are

taught at different periods of the semester.

The questionnaire was administered to the students at the end of the sessions, after the

students had taken the course. They were asked to respond to the items on the

questionnaire. When the items were unclear they were encouraged to ask the researcher for

assistance.

4.4.4 Data

A factor analysis of the questionnaire was calculated based on which the scores were

clustered into subsets of scores. The mean percentage scores of agreement/disagreement

with the statements of the questionnaire was then calculated for each separate cluster.

4.5 Results

4.5.1 Reliability

For determining the reliability of the questionnaire Cronbach’s α was calculated,

yielding a value of .89.


4.5.2 Factor Analysis

The results of the factor analysis of the scores of the questionnaire are shown in Table

4.1. Each item of the questionnaire is considered as a separate variable. The results of the

factor analysis are used for the description of the questionnaire data in a parsimonious way.

Based on the results of the analysis six factors were distinguished, which account for 51%

of the variance. The decision to use six factors is taken on an eigenvalue of the factors of >

2.00. The decision is rather cautious, but using lower eigenvalues should lead to

interpreting separate items. After this decision was made the rotated component matrix and

the factor loadings, using the varimax solution, were calculated. The factor loadings were

used to categorize the items of the questionnaire into six subsets. The highest factor loading

an item had was used to categorize the item in one of the six possible subsets of items. As a

result of this procedure some variance is lost, but as can be seen from Table 4.2 most items

have only one high loading on a factor. The content of the items was used to choose the

name of the subset. Three items, #6C, #8 and #19 were removed, because they did not

contribute to the subsets.

Table 4.1Principal Component Analysis, Described Variance and Rotated Factors as a Result of the FactorAnalysis of the Questionnaire Scores

Component Initial Eigenvalues Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Total % ofVariance

Cumulative%

Total % ofVariance

Cumulative%

1 9.585 21.300 21.300 6.609 14.687 14.687

2 3.245 7.211 28.511 3.795 8.434 23.121

3 3.106 6.902 35.413 3.616 8.035 31.156

4 2.828 6.284 41.697 3.386 7.525 38.681

5 2.268 5.041 46.737 2.895 6.434 45.116

6 2.111 4.691 51.429 2.841 6.313 51.429

Note. The chosen names of the factors are: (1) course objectives, design and construction,

(2) practical factors, (3) production rules and techniques, (4) correspondence between

assignments and the content of a subject, (5) course usefulness, and (6) teaching method of

the course.

Chapter 474

The first subset with 17 items was labeled “course objectives, design and construction”

and comprised items on the description of the course objectives, content, assignments and

the relationships between these. It also comprised items on the role of media as a

representation of an instruction, and whether a content of a subject was considered in the

construction of the course.

The second subset with 3 items was labeled “practical factors”, which indicated whether

there was enough time, the availability of facilities and the suitability of the classroom as a

workshop for the production of instructional materials.

The third subset with 5 items was labeled “production rules (techniques)”. It comprised

items on producing instructional materials on a medium such as coloring, lettering, using

equipment (hardware) and tools (software), and drawing.

The fourth subset with 8 items was labeled “correspondence between the assignments of

the course and the content of the subject.” These items indicated whether the instructional

materials are selected and evaluated on the basis of the objectives of a subject.

The fifth subset with 2 items was labeled “course usefulness”. These items asked for the

students' opinion about the usefulness of the course for the teaching profession.

The sixth subset with 7 items was labeled “teaching method of the course”. The items

requested the students to indicate their opinions on the appropriateness of the teaching

methods to clarify the course objectives, the content, and the assignments.

Table 4.2Rotated Component Matrix and the Loadings of the Items on the Factors

Question Factor1 2 3 4 5 6

Q1 .721 -.130 -.173 .175 0.02 0.07Q2 .669 -.104 -0.03 .288 -0.07 0.03Q3 .421 .254 -0.009 .105 .406 .470Q4 .199 .193 .310 .385 .324 .394Q5 .784 0.06 .247 .228 -0.01 -0.06Q6.A .261 -.252 .654 -0.09 -0.08 .242Q6.B 0.04 0.01 .702 -.121 -0.03 0.08Q6.C .625 .217 0.05 -0.06 0.08 0.00Q6.D .135 .556 .427 0.02 -0.05 0.003Q6.E 0.08 .132 .736 .240 .272 -.116


Table 4.2Continued

Q6.F .156 .187 .783 .144 .138 0.09Q7 .439 0.06 .323 0.03 -0.09 .223Q8 .326 .423 0.06 -.240 .469 0.09Q9 .714 .105 .264 0.08 .224 0.03Q10 .637 0.09 .335 -0.01 .165 0.00Q11 .190 -0.00 .110 .483 -.180 .319Q12 .370 .400 -0.02 .434 0.02 .198Q13.A .667 .420 0.00 -0.03 .122 0.00Q13.B .299 .402 -.292 .211 .332 .208Q13.C .545 .345 0.06 0.02 0.07 .186Q13.D .407 .115 .152 .252 .200 .170Q13.E .594 .491 -0.01 .146 .192 -.154Q14 -0.00 .523 -0.03 .249 -.405 -0.05Q15 .231 .505 .379 0.03 -0.04 -.291Q16 .224 -.102 0.00 .120 .762 -0.02Q17 0.00 -.142 0.09 0.07 .812 -0.09Q18 0.03 .732 0.06 .427 -.130 0.01Q19 0.08 .443 0.02 -.163 -0.03 .173Q20 -0.04 -0.03 0.00 .640 0.09 0.02Q21 .524 0.09 .340 -0.01 .288 -.215Q22 .300 .294 -0.00 .556 0.05 .109Q23 .441 .213 -.141 .610 -0.07 -.198Q24 .518 .274 -0.08 .435 -0.01 0.07Q25 .216 .256 .223 .379 .392 -.117Q26 .394 -0.04 .202 0.05 0.08 -0.03Q1.1 0.03 .457 .152 -0.01 0.02 -.729Q1.2 -0.00 .395 -0.09 -0.07 0.09 -.299Q1.3 .319 -0.06 -.128 .263 .109 .256Q1.4 .316 -.100 -.103 -.287 .204 -.387Q1.5 .130 -.283 0.05 .566 .116 -0.07Q1.6 -.376 .257 -.398 0.02 .240 0.07Q1.7 .107 -0.02 -.187 0.07 .286 -.615Q1.8.A 0.07 .103 -0.02 -0.03 0.08 .663Q1.8.B .136 -0.04 -.217 -.224 -0.08 .121Q1.8.C .152 -0.00 .235 .284 .209 .328

4.5.3 The Mean Scores on the Questionnaire

The students’ opinions on the course program were calculated as the mean percentage of

agreement or disagreement with the content of the items of the subset. The percentages of

agreement and disagreement of the students’ scores in each subset are shown in the Tables

4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.11.

Chapter 476

Table 4.3Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Course Objectives, Design andConstruction"

Item Stronglyagree

Agree Disagree Stronglydisagree

1. The objectives of the course were clear. 67 31 1.36 0

2. The content of the course was clear. 59 34 5.5 1.36

3. The assignments were clear. ( original nr.5)

52 27 9.5 4

4. The assignments can fulfil the objectivesof the course. (original nr. 12.A)

39.7 48 12 2.7

5. The assignments correspond with contentof the course. (original nr. 12.B)

42 42 11 0

6. The selected media can adapt theinstruction to individual differencesamong learners. (original nr. 12.C)

24.6 4.5 20.5 6.8

7. The selected media for the representationof an instruction involve the learners’interaction. (original nr. 12.D)

39.7 43.8 11 0

8. The selected media can be used toevaluate the learners’ understanding of aninstruction. (original nr. 12. E)

24.6 43.8 16.4 12

9. A subject was included for production ofinstructional materials. (original nr. 7)

39.7 19 23 15

10. The problems of a subject were explainedbefore the materials were produced.(original nr. 22)

28.7 53 15 4.1

11. The objectives of the subject were clear.(original nr. 8)

54.7 31 12 1.36

12. The problems of the subject were clear.(original nr.24)

30 48 19 2.7

13. The content of the subject was clear.(original nr. 9)

54.7 30 12 1.36

14. I had the choice to select any type ofmedia. (original nr. 19)

32.8 31.5 15 20


Table 4.4Students’ Agreement/disagreement (in Percentage) with the Items of the Subset “Course Objectives,Design and Construction”

Item Yes No

1. The evaluation criteria of the course were explained. (original nr.1.4)

76.7 20.5

2. The evaluation criteria of the instructional materials wereexplained. (original nr. 1.3)

71 28.7

3. Practicing production technique of media was included in theassignments. (original nr. 1.8C)

91.7 8.3

Table 4.5Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Practical Factors”

Item Stronglyagree


1. The time was enough for teaching thecourse. (original nr. 13)

68.4 16.4 6.8 6.8

2. The classroom was suitable for teachingthe course. (original nr. 14)

50.6 20.5 15 13.6

3. The time was enough to produce therequired materials. (original nr. 17)

37 42 6.8 11

Table 4.6Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Production Rules and Techniques”

Item Stronglyagree


1. The prescription for coloring was clear.(original nr. 6.A)

59 22 14 5.5

2. The prescription for lettering was clear.(original nr. 6.B)

30 37 19 12.3

3. The prescription for using hardware wasclear. (original nr. 6.C)

34 28 28 8

4. The prescription for using software wasclear. (original nr. 6.D)

35.6 41 16.4 5.5

5. The prescription for making a drawingwas clear. (original nr. 6.E)

30 41 16.4 12.3

Chapter 478

Table 4.7Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Correspondence between the Assignmentsof a Course and the Content of the Subject”

Item Stronglyagree


1. I have previous knowledge of theteaching method of the subject. (originalnr. 10)

24 35.6 20.5 20.5

2. The selected media can reach theobjectives of the subject. (original nr. 11)

39.7 48 12 2.7

3. There are other types of media that werenot covered which can reach theobjectives of the subject. (original nr. 18)

23 37 30 9.5

4. The evaluation criteria were appropriatefor the produced materials.(Appropriateness of criteria). (original nr.20)

23 43 13.6 13.6

5. The evaluation criteria for theproductions were clear. (Clarity ofcriteria). (original nr. 21)

28 41 15 11

6. The selected media help the learner tosolve the problems of a subject. (originalnr. 23)

32.8 52 8 1.3

Table 4.8Students’ Agreement/disagreement (in Percentage) with the Items of the Subset "Correspondencebetween the Assignments of a Course and the Content of the Subject”

Item Yes No

1. The objectives of a subject were classified before producing theinstruction on media. (original nr. 1.5)

35.6 64

2. The produced instructions were only for one subject. (original nr.1.6.)

34 64


Table 4.9Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Course Usefulness”

Item Stronglyagree


1. The course is useful for the teachingprofession. (original nr. 15)

75.3 23 2.7 0

2. There is a relationship between thecourse and teaching profession.(original nr. 16)

76.7 17.8 2.7 0

Table 4.10Mean Scores (in Percentages) on the Items of the Subset "Teaching Methods of the Course”

Item Stronglyagree


1. The teaching method was suitable for thecourse content. (original nr. 3)

31 45 19 0

2. The teaching method was suitable toreach the course objectives. (original nr.4)

38 42 11 2.7

Table 4.11Students’ Agreement/disagreement (in Percentage) with the Items of the Subset “Teaching Methodof the Course”

Item Yes No

1. The course objectives were explained in the beginning of thecourse. (original nr. 1.1)

89 9.5

2. The course content was explained in the beginning of the course.(original nr. 1.2)

94 5.4

3. The assignments were explained in the beginning of the course.(original nr. 1.7)

86 13.6

4. Writing reports about instructional materials was included in theassignments. (original nr. 1.8A)

5.4 94.6

5. Designing a lesson in which instructional materials are used wasincluded in the assignments. (original nr. 1.8B)

37 63

4.5.4 Written responses

The students’ written responses are presented in Table 4.12.

Chapter 480

Table 4.12Students’ Written Responses to the Subsets of the Questionnaire

Item Written response

1. Course objectives,design andconstruction

The course should be developed on the bases of the developments ininstructional technology

There should not be written exam in this course.

The content of the course should utilize the recent issues in instructionaltechnology so we can stimulate and motivate the students in teaching.

The assignments should be consistent with the students’ abilities.

We need to learn about all types of new media so we will have many options ofmedia to use in teaching.

The teacher was not clear in selecting the subjects and requirements.

2. Production rules andtechniques

We were not trained on using the tools and equipment for producinginstructional materials. I suggest that more focus should be taken on this aspect.

We were not introduced to the production rules of each type of media.

We needed more time for training and practicing the production techniques ofeach medium before we start producing such medium.

3. Practical factors There was not enough time for practicing some production skills such ascoloring.

We needed more time to produce and finish the required types of instructionalmaterials.

The time for producing instructional materials should be longer, such that wewould have the opportunity to find the appropriate material, and for moreaccurate production of instructional materials.

The classroom should be equipped with some equipment such as television,video.

The classroom should be equipped with all types of required tools andequipment.

The time of the course should be divided into two times a week. This wouldmake it easier for the students to produce materials in the presence of theteacher for immediate feedback.

4. Course usefulness The course is very useful. It developed our skills on production of instructionalmaterials

The course is very useful for the teacher profession.

The course is very useful for us, as we will be teachers in the future.


Table 4.12

Continued

5. Teaching methods ofthe course

I suggest that we should discuss some already produced materials before ourproduction. We will understand the strong and weak elements of each medium,so we can take these into our account on our production of the same type ofmedium.

The evaluation criteria, which were used, did not consider the individualdifferences in production techniques skills among the students. For example,students from Interior Design and Art domains are more skilled in productiontechnique skills than those in other domains. (N = 7)

The evaluation of our production should be in our presence, so we canunderstand the strong and weak elements of our production.

Each product should be evaluated right after its completion. This procedure willstimulate us for the production of the next material.

Teaching processes of this course should clarify the relationship betweeninstructional material, media and curriculum.

The teacher should provide us with some materials that should be developed ona medium. Our field of specialization should be taken into account during theevaluation of our production. This is the first time for me using brush forcoloring, and using photo camera.

We did not receive any feedback on our production of instructional materials.

6. Correspondencebetween theassignments of thecourse and thecontent of the subject

The course should be given only to the students who are specialized in Art andInterior Design, because they are skilled on the production techniques ofinstructional materials.

The students who are specialized in Art and Interior Design do not need to takethis course.

This course should be for only students who are specialized in Art and InteriorDesign. This course is not convenient for the students in Physical Education,Mathematics, Islamic Studies, and others.

This course is not suitable for students who are specialized in Arabic Languagebecause we do not use certain types of media in teaching Arabic.

4.6 Discussion

The course on Production of Instructional Materials is designed and developed to

improve the students’ knowledge and skills on the selection of a medium and to practice

production techniques for using the medium. This involves making a representation of the

objects involved and writing the conceptions that are developed for the description of these

on the medium as an information carrier. It is a core course for the pre- service teachers in

the College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait. The results show that the course is

Chapter 482

useful for the students, as they will become teachers. All students strongly agree that the

course is useful and relevant to the teaching profession (Table 4.9).

In general the students agree with the statements made in the items of the questionnaire.

However, the students’ responses also indicate shortcomings in the content of the course.

Course objectives, design and construction. For the production of instructional materials,

the designer should understand the content, the objectives, and the rules for the design of

the instruction. From Table 4.3 it becomes clear that the objectives of the course

Production of Instructional Materials were made clear to the students at the beginning of

the course and the course content explained.

However the data also show that a fairly high percentage of the students do not have a

clear picture of the evaluation criteria, neither of the requirements of the instructional

materials to be produced, nor for the evaluation of the whole course. For example, the data

in Table 4.4 show that 28.7% of the students indicate that the evaluation criteria were not

explained, and 20.5% indicated that the evaluation criteria for the whole course were not

explained to them. Evaluation criteria should be based on the knowledge and skills that

should be the result of any instruction. Therefore, they should be clear to the students in

such a way that their performance can be consistent with these criteria. Moreover, the

effective instructional materials can only be produced on the bases of the relationships

between the content of instructional technology and the content of the subject.

Though in general a majority of the students stated that a subject to be used in the course

was clear to them and that they were able to produce instructional materials, Table 4.3

shows that a fairly high percentage (38%) of the students stated that a subject was not

included in the content of the course. In addition, a fairly high percentage (19.1%) of the

students said that the problems of a subject were not explained. Twenty one percent of the

students stated that the problems of a subject were not clear to them.

Effective instructional materials should support the acquisition of knowledge and skills

and overcome the difficulties that the learners in elementary schools might encounter.

However, the data in Table 4.3 indicate that quite a high percentage of the students show

disagreement. They disagreed with the idea that the selected instructional materials: (a)


fulfill the objectives of the instruction (14.7%); (b) meet the individual differences among

the learners in elementary education (27.3%); and, (c) can be used to support the learners’

understanding of the instruction (28.4%).

Students had the freedom to select the type of media, but a fairly high percentage (35%)

did not agree with that. Finally, practicing production techniques was the major focus of the

course as 91.7% of the students indicates in table 4.4.

Production rules. The production of instructional materials involves both the knowledge

and the skills of how to put the instruction into a medium as an information carrier. The

students should have different production skills because they were required to produce the

instructions for different types of instructional media (referring to the technical meaning of

the word ‘medium’). Therefore, they should be well trained on the production techniques of

instructional materials. The data in Table 4.6 show that although the majority of the

students agree that the technical prescriptions for producing instructional materials were

clear, a fairly high percentage disagreed. For example, 19.5% of the students disagree that

they were trained on how to use colors and 31.3% disagree that they were trained on how to

use fonts and font size, although it is well known that these text variables influence

learning. Again for the use of equipment (hardware) and tools (software) and for making

drawings the percentages of disagreement with the explanations are 36%, 21.9% and 28.7%

respectively.

Practical factors. Table 4.5 shows that the majority of the students accepted the practical

situation at the institute for carrying out their learning task. However, still a fairly high

percentage of the students (28.6%) indicated that the classroom was not suitable for

teaching the course. Though this point does not directly concern the integration of

instructional technology and subject matter content it shows the importance of an

appropriate environment to practice the production rules.

Correspondence between assignments of the course and the content of the subject. The

principles of the course on Production of Instructional Materials should be correctly

Chapter 484

applied to the content of a subject. The assignments of the course should support the

acquisition of the subject content. Therefore, the purpose, the type and the evaluation of the

assignments should be developed on the basis of the objectives of a subject. Though in

general the participants agree with the statements, the data in Table 4.7 show that (27.2%)

of the students indicate that the evaluation criteria, which are used to evaluate their

production of materials, were not appropriate, and 26% indicated that the evaluation criteria

were not clear. The data also show that a quite high percentage of the students (41%) did

not have previous knowledge on teaching the subject. The students agree that the

assignments can lead to instructions that achieve the objectives of a subject, but again some

(14.7%) disagree. A high percentage (60%) of the students also agree that there are other

types of media that can be appropriate to achieve the objectives of a subject. Moreover, the

data in Table 4.8 indicate that a very high percentage of the students (64%) state that the

objectives of a subject were not described before the production started.

Teaching methods of the course. The data in Table 4.10 show that the majority of the

students accept the teaching method of the course. But again a fairly high percentage of the

students disagree. For 19% of them the teaching method was not suitable for the content.

The students were not required to explain the relationships between the content of the

instruction and the medium selected. For example, Table 4.11 shows that a high percentage

of the students (94.6%) indicate that the writing of a report about the effectiveness of the

materials produced was not required, and (63%) indicated that designing an instruction in

which media are used was not included in the assignments.

General remarks. The questionnaire data show that the course Production of Instructional

Materials did not comprise those assignments that integrate the instructional design

principles and the content of a subject. The focus of the course was on the production of

instructional materials without paying attention to the utilization of such materials in an

instructional setting.

In their written responses the students indicate (Table 4.12) that the course Production of

Instructional Materials needs to be changed in order to include the recent developments in


instructional technology. The students need more time for training and practicing

production techniques for the media that are selected. An important point that some

students state in their written responses is that the relationship between the principles of

instructional technology and the content of a subject should be addressed. The students’

written responses on the usefulness of the course for a certain subject show some

conflicting opinions. Some students state that the course is useful for a certain subject while

other students strongly disagree.

The goal of the course was to practice production techniques for the use of media for

instruction. But the selection of a medium and the production of materials should be

integrated with the content of the subjects. The production techniques of instructional

materials were insufficiently or not at all integrated with the objectives (problems), content,

and instructional design for a subject. Accordingly, some students’ written responses

indicate that the focus of the course was only on production techniques. The relationships

between the medium used and the type of subject matter, however, was not explained to the

students. As a result, some students state that the course is not convenient for different

subjects. For them the teaching method of the course is not suitable and the evaluation

criteria for the students’ performance (instruction and media) are not clear. The

assignments of the course, which mostly concern production of instructional materials, did

not include the prescription of effectively using the materials in certain learning situations.

Some students even indicate that the classroom situation for doing the assignments was not

convenient.

The ultimate goal of the teacher-training program is to support the teachers in learning to

design and develop instruction and in selecting an appropriate medium to convey and

support instruction. However, the results indicate that the students were mostly required to

produce instruction and put instruction on a medium without integrating media selection

with the content of a subject and without practicing how to adapt the instruction to the

learners' needs. These relevant aspects are not clarified in the course and are not integrated

with the content of the course. The content of the course did not pay attention to the

structure of the content of the subject.

To reach the intended objectives of the course Production of Instructional Materials, the

Chapter 486

design of the instructional messages and the selection of the medium should be integrated.

The question which type of medium is effective in a specific area of content has to be

answered first. Ertmer (1999) stated that most teacher training programs helped teachers to

increase their skills for using media at the mechanical and production techniques level, but

that little information or support was provided at the instructional level. The argument is

that the instruction for the selection and utilization of instructional materials will be

effective only if the prescriptions and the content of a subject are integrated. Therefore, the

pre-service teachers have to understand the relevance of the instructional technology for

their future career in teaching (Balli et al. 1997).

For designing and developing an effective instruction and for the application of rules for

media selection, production and utilization, instructional design principles should be

applied. The prescriptions of a suitable instructional- design theory and model should be

used. In particular a course such as Producing Instructional Materials should be developed

on the basis of an instructional design theory that develops the students’ knowledge and

skills on media selection and production of instructions. Therefore, the content of the

course should not only develop the student’s knowledge and skills on production

techniques of instructional materials, but also prescribe the strategies of integrating these

materials in curricula.

Instructional design and media choice 87

CHAPTER 5.

EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL-DESIGN THEORY ON THE SELECTION OF

MEDIA IN THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS AND MEDIA SPECIALISTS.

5.1 Abstract

The effect of general instructional-design knowledge on the selection of media was

studied in the training of teachers and media specialists for primary education. Thirty-

eight students, females between 19 and 22 years of age, participated in the study. Both

groups studied a written instruction on a problem-based instructional-design theory

and model (Dijkstra, 1997b). The students were administered a pretest and a posttest on

media selection, an achievement test on instructional-design knowledge and a

questionnaire for measuring the students’ affective reception of the instruction. Though

there was no difference in achievement on the instructional-design knowledge test

between the two groups, the students of the training program for teachers showed a

significant improvement in their media selection skills. This improvement supports the

assumption that media selection decisions are part of instructional design decisions.

5.2 Introduction

The goals of colleges for training teachers for elementary schools include that future

teachers should be able to coach their students, design instructions and select media to

foster the development of knowledge and skills. The teachers of elementary education

have to coach their students in different domains, such as native language (speaking,

reading, writing, spelling), arithmetic, geography, history and the sciences (e.g.,

biology), music and art. They educate students on how to behave socially, how to treat

the environment and they also show which ethical rules are desirable and applicable.

To prepare for their jobs as teachers of elementary education, the students of the

teacher training college have to learn how to design instructional communications with

their students, how to select a proper medium that will promote learning and how to

produce instructional materials to be presented with those media. These tasks have to be

performed for different domains. For students of teacher training colleges these tasks

are complicated because they have to meet three conditions: (1) categorise subject

Chapter 588

matter; (2) realize their teaching from understanding instructional-design theory; and,

(3) relate the representation of a reality with media selection, including the signs

(pictures, schematics, symbol systems) to be used and the technical equipment to

present and interact with the signs and conceptions.

If the knowledge to meet the conditions is acquired and integrated with their

classroom experience, the tasks can be performed well. In case this knowledge is

fragmentary and not integrated with classroom experience the students will make

categorization errors and an inadequate selection of the medium. The students of teacher

training colleges for elementary schools often have difficulties with media selection,

because they are unable to relate the selection to the categorization of the subject matter

or parts of it. Often their training is mainly devoted to classroom practice that is strongly

influenced by observational learning and not integrated with instructional-design theory.

By the end of the training period, the knowledge of instructional-design theories that

they should acquire and the skill of teaching, including the selection of a proper

medium, is mainly at a novice level. In their jobs at elementary schools the teachers’

instructions should be grounded in instructional-design theory and the media selection

should be integrated with the instructional decisions. The integration of the

instructional-design knowledge and the selection of media will be studied in the

research described in this article. A comparison on the correctness of media selection

will be made between students of a teacher training college who prepared themselves

for the teacher profession and students of a media production specialists program who

were trained in the techniques of media production. It is hypothesised that the students

of the teacher-training group will be better able to integrate instructional-design theory

with their knowledge of the subject-matter content, their teaching and their selection of

proper media.

5.3 Instructional Communication and Instructional Design

Instruction is one part of a communication between a teacher and a learner about

objects in a reality (entities, things, events, situations and organisations) and

conceptions about these objects such as how to categorise them, how they change and

how they can be designed and made. The other part is the learner’s reaction to the

instruction such as giving answers, asking questions or performing a task. The goal of


the communication is for students to acquire knowledge about the reality and to learn

skills for performing tasks. Instruction is an activity expressed in language, gestures,

and opportunities for practice in environments and with objects that are designed for

learning and that can be manipulated by the students. In ideal circumstances the

communication takes the form of an interaction between the teacher and the learner

about the objects, the conceptions about them and what to do with them (observing,

manipulating). Or in co-operative and collaborative learning it can be an interaction

among members of a group of students about the objects involved. Because

instructional communication concerns objects and conceptions about these objects in

either an empirical or a mathematical reality it is necessary that the students of the

college for teacher training acquire knowledge on how to represent this reality and how

to design the instructional communications. Instructional-design theory usually includes

statements about how to represent the objects involved and which technical media are

adequate for the subject matter involved.

For the integration of instructional-design knowledge and the selection of media the

problem-based instructional-design theory (Dijkstra, 1997b) was used to provide a

framework. The theory is a general instructional-design theory (Flechsig, 1997). A

general design theory is abstract and covers a wide range of applications. It provides the

framework for the development of specific designs. A general assumption of the theory

is that human beings have a need for understanding the reality in which they function

and that this need leads to exploration and discovery, systematic observation, and

research and development. These activities have a clear purpose and are labeled as

problem solving. The result of these activities is the construction of knowledge and

problem-solving methods. If the results are stored in documents and saved in libraries

they can be used by future generations. Dijkstra’s theory assumes that the development

of knowledge is fostered by problem-solving activities. This means asking questions

about objects in the reality, operating on the objects or the representations of these and

checking what will happen. Asking questions will focus the students’ attention on the

relevant features and lead to categorization of objects and situations. Manipulation of

objects will help the students to understand their changes.

Dijkstra (1997b) and Dijkstra and Van Merriënboer (1997) distinguished three

categories of problems:

Chapter 590

(a) Categorization problems: objects (often labeled instances) must be assigned to

categories or the relationships between categories should be found. The knowledge

resulting from such problem-solving activities are concepts, both class and relational.

(b) Interpretation problems: the students should perceive and interpret the change of

objects. The knowledge resulting from this problem-solving activity comprises

principles, causal networks and explanatory theories.

(c) Design problems: For solving a design problem an artifact must be created,

developed and used. The knowledge resulting from solving design problems comprises

design rules, plans and procedures and prescriptive theories. For solving the category of

design problems the students will be assisted to design (sketch, draw, compose) and

produce (develop, make) objects or they will be assisted how to use and maintain

objects.

Dijkstra and Van Merriënboer (1997) argue that these three categories of problems

are fundamental for the construction of knowledge and skills. The knowledge resulting

from the three categories of problems and the methods of solving these together

encompass the content of the subject matter. The goals of education and training guide

the selection of the knowledge and skills that should be developed by the students. In

schools students should acquire this content by solving problems that are especially

designed for learning. The instructional designer and the teacher prepare problems to be

solved by students. These problems are constructed in such a way that students will be

able to develop the desired knowledge and skills. The construction of the knowledge

(e.g., concepts, hypotheses, theory) will be facilitated if the design of the problems that

are provided for the students is based on special rules for the category involved. The

teacher will facilitate experiential learning, try to reach a balance between the students’

activities and their need for information and will make a choice on which media to use

for the subject involved.

5.4 The Medium

The content of the instruction, which is a result of the teacher’s cognitive activity,

refers to objects in a reality and the conceptions about these objects. The content is

conveyed by and stored in a medium, which represents these objects and carries the

message from a sender (teacher, student) to a receiver (student, teacher), who can


perceive the message by the sense organs. The label medium has different meanings,

three of which are used in this study (for an overview, see Seel & Winn,1997).

Originally the media were the human voice and gestures that carried messages from

teachers to students and vice versa. The students experienced the reality itself. Voice

and gestures were and are used for different instructional purposes, such as: showing

objects, gaining attention, indicating the relevant features of the objects, showing

similarities and differences, showing regularities in the change of objects, describing

conceptions (categorisations and processes), informing the students what to do, and

designing and making objects. Historically, the development of pictographs, of

pictorially-oriented languages, of images, and derivative scripts changed the meaning of

the concept of a medium. Objects came to be represented by signs, and the associated

conceptions could be described in scripts and pictographs. This historical development

of pictographic language influences the conception of media still today. Seel and Winn

(1997) describe rules about how to represent objects and to denote messages by signs as

the code-related conception of medium.

Besides the development of signs, the technical development of information carriers

and apparatuses to make the information perceptible to the senses is an important

milestone in the use of media. The use of clay tablets, parchment and paper made the

instruction independent of time and place and made it possible for many persons to use

an instructional message. Scrolls and books were developed. Industrial production of

paper and the invention of the printing press made mass production of pictures and text

possible.

In the 19th and 20th century other information carriers were developed, including

celluloid and silicon chips. The first was used for photographs, slides, transparencies

and motion pictures. The second is used for digitally storing all kinds of information,

both in visual and audio modes. Technical devices such as projectors, monitors and

computers made the perception and manipulation of stored information possible.

Among the different possible meanings of ‘medium’, the authors distinguish: (a) the

medium as “voice and gestures” to convey a message; (b) the medium as signs to

represent objects, associated conceptions and their denotation in messages; and, (c) the

medium as the technical device to carry the information and make it available.

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5.5 Reality or a Representation of Reality?

Because the content of instruction is about objects in a reality, the teacher has to

solve the problem whether to use the real objects or a representation of those objects, or

both (Dijkstra, 1998). The argument to use the real objects is that students can perceive

these with their senses and experience them directly, and then operate on them to learn

how they behave and how they are used. The argument to use a representation is that

some instances make direct interaction unlikely or impossible: (a) when it is impossible

or impractical to directly perceive the objects (e.g., atoms, planets, historical buildings

in a foreign country); (b) when the necessary experimentation cannot be feasibly

conducted in a school setting (e.g., to determine the structure of matter, molecules, and

atoms); (c) when the duration of a process precludes direct observation; and, (d) when

there is the risk of damage and concern for personal safety. If in education a

representation of the real objects is used as a medium the teacher has to answer two

questions. The first question is whether an object has to be shown (picture, drawing,

photograph) or whether the change of an object or change of its position has to be

shown to the students (movie, time-lapse photography, animation) and manipulated

(simulation). The second question is whether a demonstration model or a simulator (for

example a flight simulator) has to be used. Actually, in the last cases the real objects are

used in such a way that the risk of damage is minimized. For solving an instructional-

design problem, the teachers thus have to distinguish the three types of problems and

the features of the resulting knowledge and methods. They should be able to recognize

these features in the description of the subject matter and use these features to design

the problems the students should solve and to describe the students’ tasks. They also

have to decide whether to use real objects or a representation of these and which

representation is adequate for the subject matter involved. Then, they will be able to

select the medium in the technical sense. Thus, if the objects and events to be

represented are static and do not have to be changed, then still pictures such as

photographs, slides, charts, and transparencies are adequate media. If objects change or

move, then motion pictures, such as films, video, animation and simulations, - should be

used.

A specific medium’s capabilities make it more or less appropriate for different

instructional situations. For instance, a slide series can represent a consequent picture of


the static object or situation from different perspectives whereas transparencies and

charts can represent a diagrammatic picture of the static object. A video film represents

a dynamic picture of an event and shows the changes, whereas a simulation facilitates

the interaction with the learner. These can be considered as general rules for media

selection and they should be obvious for both the teacher and the media production

specialist.

For students of teacher training colleges it is assumed that their media selection will

benefit if they learn how to describe an instructional-design problem and if they are able

to apply this knowledge and integrate it in their classroom practice. They probably will

make more correct decisions about which medium to use than students who are only

trained as media production specialists. The students of the teacher training colleges

usually pay attention to the content of the subject matter and teaching methods for

specific subjects, such as reading and spelling, mathematics and science.

In this study, the teacher-training subjects will study a general instructional-design

theory that will make it possible to integrate this media knowledge with their knowledge

of the subject content and the teaching methods that are used for that subject. As a result

they should be able to apply this integrated knowledge in their future classroom

practice, including the selection of media.

By way of contrast, the second group consists of media specialists who are trained in

media production techniques and have knowledge “about techniques but not about

content.” Media specialists know about the mechanical, electronic and other physical

features of various media and can describe the media’s function, shape and other

physical features. These are commonly used to classify a medium in the third sense

mentioned earlier as a technical device such as a television, a radio, and so on (Kozma,

1991). Due to this focus on a restricted sense of media, it is hypothesized that with

regard to the work integration of media with instructional design theory and classroom

practice, the group of media specialist-trainees will encounter more difficulty than the

teacher-trainees.

5.6 Method

5.6.1 Participants

Thirty-eight third and fourth year students of the College of Basic Education of the

Chapter 594

State of Kuwait participated in the experiment. All students were females between the

ages of 19 and 22 years. The College of Basic Education has separate schools for male

and female students. The girls’ school had the required number of students for this

study. Twenty students were selected from the Pre-Service Teacher Program. Eighteen

students were selected from the Pre-Service Media Specialist Program. The participants

of both groups took the same program, except for the courses on instructional media and

the courses in their vocational and specialization domain.

The students in the teacher-training program took one course on media orientation

and one course on media production techniques. The students of the teacher-training

program also took courses on the subject matter content for elementary schools, and on

how to teach this content. These courses included Teaching Mathematics, Teaching

Science, General Chemistry, Basic Physics, General Geology, Basics in Plant Science,

General Animal Science, Physical Chemistry, Electricity and Magnetism, Economical

Geology, Introduction to Astronomy, Classification of Plants’ World, Human Biology,

and the Science Laboratory.

The students in the media specialist program took various courses on media

concentrating on developing the students’ knowledge and skills of production

techniques for several types of instructional media. These courses included Computer

Use for Learning, Instructional Drawings, Basics of Photography, Charts and Models,

Educational Films and their Application, Educational Television, and Educational

Hardware and Equipment.

However, the programs of both groups were not embedded in a general instructional-

design framework that can integrate the knowledge of subject matter, teaching methods

and instructional media, because no course on instructional design was available. For

participating in the experiment the students were rewarded by diminishing their study

load for an existing subject by 10 %.

5.6.2 Material

Two variants of a 20-page written instruction for studying the Problem-based

Instructional-design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) were developed in Arabic. For

the first variant, a case on “The Life of a Plant” was designed and constructed. For the

second case the subject “The Solar System” was chosen. Both cases belonged to the


science subject matter of the fourth grade elementary schools in Kuwait. For the science

subject only one textbook is available for the schools. The subjects were instructed how

to categorize the problems within these cases and how to select a medium for supporting

the instruction by applying the instructional-design theory and the media selection rules.

The instruction was outlined in several sections.

The content of the instruction included:

1. General educational goals;

2. Subject matter, information and problem-solving procedures;

3. Construction of knowledge and skills as a result of solving problems;

4. Types of problems (problems of categorization, interpretation and design), and the

resulting knowledge and skills including the content of one of two subjects: The Solar

System or The Life of a Plant, and the types of problems involved;

5. Levels of performance;

6. Instruction, Instructional communication and instructional Design;

7. The development of media;

8. Instructional design and media; and,

9. Features of subject matter and choice of media.

5.6.3 Tests and Questionnaires

A media selection test, used both as a pretest and as a posttest, was developed for

assessing the subjects’ media selection skills. The test included five problems based on

the problems which are presented in the Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and

Model (see Dijkstra, 1997b). Each problem contained a subject for which the students

had to select a proper medium to be used in teaching how to answer questions or solve

problems involved in that subject. The questions concerned the design of a house. This

subject was borrowed from the science textbook of the fourth grade in Kuwait. The

content was analyzed and different problems for the students of primary education were

developed. The participants in the experiment had to choose a proper medium to convey

the instruction and support the learning corresponding to the problems and methods of

the instructional design model.

The participants were requested to select a proper medium from a list of six media -

transparencies, slide series, chart, video film, model, and simulation – and assess its

Chapter 596

importance for supporting the instruction on a five point scale as is shown in Appendix

B. In the second part of the test, the students were asked to explain why they preferred a

certain type of medium or media. To assess the students’ media selection skills, the

students’ scores were compared with the criterion scores, which were determined in

advance according to the problem category and media selection and use (see table 2.1 in

chapter 2). The possible marks on the five-point scale are strongly agree (1) till strongly

disagree (5). The students’ answers were scored as “correct” if they agreed with a

proper medium (score ≤ 2) or disagreed with an improper medium (score ≥ 4).

Otherwise their answers were scored as “incorrect”. A neutral mark was scored as

incorrect. If all media choices were “correct” the total score equals 30. The following

examples show the scoring of the test.

Problem 1 (see Appendix B). "The student has to describe the materials for building

each part of the house. For example cement and iron for the foundations and columns,

bricks for the walls, stones for the floor, wood for the doors and aluminum and glass for

the windows." This problem is a problem of categorization (of the parts of a house).

The criterion for scoring the correctness of media choice for this problem is that this

media can show pictures and drawings of static objects, thus in this case slides,

transparencies or charts. The other media are less useful. If a student has, for instance, a

score according to the following pattern: transparency (strongly agree or agree), slide

series (strongly agree or agree), charts (strongly agree or agree), video film (disagree or

strongly disagree), model (disagree or strongly disagree), simulation (disagree or

strongly disagree), then the student’s score for this problem will be 6.

Problem 2 (see Appendix B). "The student has to recognize the steps of building a

house: building the foundation, building the floor, building the columns, building the

ceiling, widows, doors, and so forth.” This problem is a problem of categorization (of

the steps of building a house). The criterion for scoring the correctness of media choice

for this problem is that this media can show pictures and drawings of static objects, thus

in this case slides, transparencies or charts. The other media are less useful. If a student

has, for instance, a score according to the following pattern: transparency (strongly

agree or agree), slide series (strongly agree or agree), charts (strongly agree or agree),

video film (disagree or strongly disagree), model (disagree or strongly disagree),


simulation (disagree or strongly disagree), then the student’s score for this problem will

be 6.

Problem 3 (see Appendix B). “The student has to realize the relationships between

using the types of materials for building the parts of a house and the weather condition

in an area such as Kuwait: for example, isolation board for outer walls, isolation sheets

for the roof, concrete for columns and ceilings, and so forth.” This problem is a

problem of interpretation that why certain materials should be used for building a house

in certain place. The criterion for scoring the correctness of media choice for this

problem is that this media can show the importance of the material to maintain the

object, in this case the materials to maintain the house or features of it, in such a way

that the children can see how these materials can maintain the house. Isolating the roof

will protect it from the leaking of water. Isolating the outer walls will protect it from

the penetration of the out heating. If a student has, for instance, a score according to the

following pattern: transparency (disagree or strongly disagree), slide series (disagree or

strongly disagree), chart (disagree or strongly disagree), model (strongly agree or

agree), video film (strongly agree or agree), and simulation (strongly agree or agree),

then the student’s score for this problem will be 6.

Problem 4 (see Appendix B). "The student has to predict what would happen when

certain materials are not used in building certain parts of a house on a location such as

Kuwait with certain weather conditions. For example isolation boards for outer walls,

isolation sheets for the roof, concrete for columns and ceilings, and so forth". This

problem is a problem of interpretation what will happen to a building after a certain

time lapse. The criterion for scoring the correctness of media choice for this problem is

that this media can show change of the object, in this case change of the house or

features of it, in such a way that the children can see the process of change. If the roof is

not isolated the leaking of water and the damage to the walls and floors should be

shown. If the outer walls do not have isolation boards, the relationship between the

outside temperature and inside temperature should be made clear (a typical problem for

Kuwait). If a student has, for instance, a score according to the following pattern:

transparency (disagree or strongly disagree), slide series (disagree or strongly disagree),

chart (disagree or strongly disagree), model (strongly agree or agree), video film

Chapter 598

(strongly agree or agree), and simulation (strongly agree or agree), then the student’s

score for this problem will be 6.

Problem 5 (see Appendix B). “The student has to make a design for a house. So, the

student has to practice, at this level, the first step for building a house, which is the

drawing and the blueprints of the internal layout of the parts of a house such as, the

living rooms, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and so forth.” This is the first

sub-problem of a design problem. If a student has, for instance, a score according to the

following pattern: transparency (disagree or strongly disagree), slide series (disagree or

strongly disagree), chart (disagree or strongly disagree), model (strongly agree or

agree), video film (strongly agree or agree), and simulation (strongly agree or agree),

then the student’s score for this problem will be 6.

A matrix of criterion scores for all the problems is shown in appendix C.

A second achievement test, labeled knowledge test, measured the students’

knowledge of instructional-design theories and models. This test contained 10 multiple

choice questions and 8 short answer questions.

The questionnaire was developed to assess the students’ affective reception of the

course on the instructional-design theory and model, and to judge the usefulness of it. It

included 18 items, which could be answered on a five-point scale. A score of 1

corresponded with “strongly agree”, a score of 5 with “strongly disagree.” In addition,

the students could write their comment on the course program. The 18 items on the

questionnaire were grouped into three subsets of items.

The first subset with 4 items was labeled ““clarity,”” which indicated whether the

instructions had been clear to the students. The minimum score in this subset can be 4 if

all scores corresponded with strongly agree and the maximum score can be 20 if all

scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The second subset with 5 items was labeled

“scientific”. The score on this subset of items specified whether the students could use

the content of the instruction for the selection of media. The minimum score in this

subset can be 5 if all scores corresponded with strongly agree and the maximum score

can be 25 if all scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The third subset of 9 items

was labeled “effectiveness”. The score on this subset represented whether the students

would use the content of the instruction for media selection. The minimum score in this

subset can be 9 if all scores corresponded with strongly agree and the maximum score


can be 45 if all scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The average score of each

subset, which varied from 1 to 5, was calculated according to the number of items in the

subset.

Design and procedure. The presentation of the material was balanced. The two groups,

pre-service teacher training students and pre-service media specialist students were

divided into two groups. Each experimental group was divided into two subgroups, the

first of which received “The Solar System” as an instructional design case and the

second subgroup received “The Life of a Plant” case.

The experiment required two sessions; the first lasted 90 minutes and the second

lasted 180 minutes. During the first session the purpose of the experiment was explained

(45 minutes) and the pretest was administered (45 minutes). At the end of the session,

written instruction was presented to the students for further study. During the second

session, one week later, the experimenter explained the instructional-design theory and

model and answered the students' questions (90 minutes), administered the posttest (45

minutes), the achievement test (30 minutes) and the questionnaire (15 minutes).

5.7 Results

Pretest. For determining the reliability of the pretest Cronbach's α was calculated,

yielding a value of .71. The average number of correct choices of the pre-service teacher

students was 12.75 and of the media specialist students 13.88, the standard deviations

were 3.22 and 2.96. The comparison of means for the two independent groups yielded a

value of t = 1.128, df 36, p = > .10. The difference was not significant.

Pretest-posttest comparison. For the students of the teacher training program the

average number of correct choices on the pretest was 12.75 and on the posttest the

average was 16.76. The standard deviations were 3.22 and 3.58. The comparison of

these scores yielded a significant difference, t = - 3.44, df = 16, p < .01. For the students

of the media specialist training program the averages were 13.88 and 14.38, the standard

deviations were 2.96 and 3.56. The comparison yielded a value of t = - .50, df = 17.

This result is not significant. The average scores of the two independent groups, (the

students of the program for teacher training and the students of program for training the

Chapter 5100

media specialists) on the posttest were 16.76 and 14.38, the standard deviations were

3.58 and 3.56. The comparison yielded a strong trend in favor of the students of the

college for teacher training, t = - 1.96, df = 33, p = .058.

Written answers. The percentages of the students of the program for teacher training

who could identify the type of problem properly from problem 1 to 5 were 55%, 5.5%,

55%, 25%, and 35% respectively. The percentages of the students of the program for

training media specialists were 27.7%, 5.5%, 33%, 33%, and 27.7%.

Knowledge test. The reliability of the knowledge test was calculated with Cronbach’s α

and yielded a value of .65. The average score of the students of the teacher training

program was 12.75 and of the students of the media specialist program 11.61, the

standard deviations were 3.10 and 2.81 respectively. The difference between groups on

the knowledge test was not significant.

Questionnaire. The average scores on the “clarity” subset of items for students of the

teacher training program was 2.22 and for the students of the media specialist program

was 2.40, the standard deviations were 1.68 and 2.59 respectively. The comparison of

the means for these two groups did not yield a significant difference. The average score

on the “scientific” subset of items for the teacher-training group was 1.59 and for the

media specialist group it was 1.88; the standard deviations were 1.73 and 2.97

respectively. The comparison of these two scores yielded a trend, t= 1.91, df = 36, p <

.10. The average scores on the “effectiveness” subset for the students of teacher training

program was 1.45 and of the students of media specialist program was 1.98, the

standard deviations were 2.78 and 6.78 respectively. The comparison of these two

scores yielded a significant difference t= 2.93, df = 36, p < .01. The correlation

coefficient between the total scores on “clarity” of the instruction and use of the theory

(“scientific”) was r = .28. The coefficient between “clarity” and “effectiveness” was r =

.45, p < .01 and between “scientific” and “effectiveness” this was r = .70, p < .01. No

independent factors were identified.


Written comments. The students’ written responses refer to different features of the

instruction. They are categorized as usefulness, application, novelty, clarity and

abstractness of the instruction. Nineteen students of the program for teacher training

made written statements of their comments and suggestions. Seven written comments

(35%) indicated that the instruction was useful. Fourteen written comments 70%) made

clear that the instruction should be taught in the course and to all students in the college.

From the other written comments three (15%) concerned the clarity, four (20%) the

level of abstraction, and two (10%) the novelty of the instruction. Only nine students of

the program for media specialist wrote their comments and suggestions. Three written

comments (16.6%) showed that the instruction was useful, three (16.6%) that the

instruction should be taught as part of the course to all students in the college, and four

(22.2%) made a statement on the level of abstraction of the instruction. In Tables 5.1

and 5.2 some typical examples of the written comments and suggestions of the students

are presented.

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Table 5.1

Examples of Written Comments of Students in Teacher Training Program

Category Comments

Application of theinstruction

I suggest using this instruction for media selection at all levels of thescience subject. The instruction should be taught in the courses ofMedia Production, Teaching Science and Teaching Mathematics.This instruction should be taught in the first period of the course. Itshould be taught to all students in all fields in the College of BasicEducation. It should be assigned as one of the core courses and belisted in the major sheet for all students.

Usefulness of theinstruction

This scientific instruction helped us to choose a proper medium torepresent the information and aspects of the science subject. Itdeveloped our knowledge and skills on media selection. Theinstruction can be used to develop the teachers’ knowledge and skillson media selection in all subjects. We found difficulties on selectinga proper media in our course (Media Production) before getting thisinstruction.

Novelty of theinstruction

The instruction is new method for media selection, it is veryinteresting, and it increased my interest on media selection andutilization.

Clarity of theinstruction

It explained the processes of selecting proper media. Thus it wouldbe easy for us to select a proper media to be produced. Theinstruction comprised sufficient number of example that made iteasy to understand the rules of media selection.

Abstractness of theinstruction

The instruction is difficult. Some concepts should be clarified,especially in the part of Level of Performance. It should containmore examples.


Table 5.2Examples of Written Comments of Students in Media Specialist Training Program

Category Comments

Application of theinstruction

It should be taught to all students in the field of EducationalTechnology. Because all other courses concentrate only on theproduction techniques. The instruction should be presented in aseparate course.

Usefulness of theinstruction

It helped us to understand and perceive the function of media in agiven learning problem. The instruction is useful for all fields.

Novelty of theinstruction

_

Clarity of theinstruction

_

Abstractness of theinstruction

“The instruction should be explained by the teacher. It was difficultfor me to understand it, but the teacher explained it to us and made itunderstandable.

It should be written in easier and more simplified way. It shouldcontain more examples.

5.8 Discussion

The pretest scores show no difference in choice of the medium for instruction

between the two experimental groups. This means that at the start of the experiment the

choice of medium is neither clearly related to the type of subject matter (concepts,

principles, hypotheses, theories, design rules), to the problems the students have to

solve, nor to an integrated instructional design theory. The differences in number of

technical courses on media production do not affect the choice of medium for

instructional purposes.

The comparison of the two groups on the differences between the pretest and posttest

scores shows a significant improvement in choice of a proper medium in favor of the

students of the training program for teachers, whereas the students of the media

specialist program did not show any increase in their selection skills. Moreover, a

comparison between the average score on the posttest of the students of the media

specialist program and of the students of the program for teacher training shows a strong

trend (p = .058) in favor of the teachers. In addition the written arguments in the second

part of the posttest show that the percentage of the students of the program for teacher

training who could distinguish the type of problem was higher in three of the five

problems. On the other hand, for the students of the program for media specialist, the

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percentage was higher for only one problem. This result supports the hypothesis that the

students of the program for teacher training are able to use the general instructional-

design knowledge for the choice of a proper medium related to specific information that

belongs to a certain subject. The Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model

(Dijkstra, 1997b provided the general framework, allowing students to categorize the

specific instruction of the subject matter involved. If the categorization is correct, the

medium that is appropriate for the instruction will be correctly chosen.

The pretest-posttest difference scores of the students of the training program for

teachers and the difference between both experimental groups are more salient if the

scores on the achievement test and the questionnaire are taken into account. The

participants in both groups do not show a difference in instructional design knowledge.

Both groups have similar comments about the clarity of the instruction. The lack of

difference between these two scores might mean that the students of both groups could

equally profit from the experimental instructions. However, the data point to another

direction. The scores on usefulness (“scientific”) and possible use of the theory and

model (“effectiveness”) show a significant difference in favor of the students of the

training program for teachers. The students of the media specialist program have much

less confidence in the usefulness and possible use of the Problem-based Instructional-

design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b) than the students of the teacher training

program have. This result further supports the hypothesis that the students of the

teacher-training program are able to recognize the topics of the subject as instances of

instructional-design categories for which a certain medium is appropriate. They can

apply the general instructional-design theory and model, integrate this knowledge with

their existing, but fragmentary, prior knowledge and are able to improve their skills,

though the choice of a proper medium is still difficult. The maximum score is not

reached. The students of the media production specialist program who do not have

enough knowledge about the teaching methods for the contents of a subject are not able

to integrate their fragmentary knowledge and their experiences with media production

into a general instructional-design frame. They have acquired technical skills for media

production, but not when to use which medium.

The scores on the subsets of the questionnaire are not independent of each other. The

correlation coefficients between the scores on the subsets are positive and in two cases


they have a significant value. For future research on the issue the subsets of items of the

questionnaire should be further specified and the scores on the subsets “scientific” and

“effectiveness” may be combined.

The general conclusion is that the results of this study support the conception of

instruction as a communication between an expert and a novice (or novices) about

objects in a reality. For this instruction a medium is necessary and that medium is

chosen based on the features of the objects and their change as is made clear in the

instructional-design category. The knowledge of the instructional-design theory and

model will strengthen the skill of media selection. The students will understand the

different meanings of the concept of medium and the function of media as a

representation of reality. They will realize that a medium has different meanings and

that it is not only a technical device for the presentation of information.

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Instructional design, media characteristics and media choice 107

CHAPTER 6.

EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN THEORY AND MEDIA

CHARACTERISTICS ON THE SELECTION OF MEDIA IN THE TRAINING OF

TEACHERS AND MEDIA SPECIALISTS

6.1 Abstract

The effect of instructional design knowledge on the students’ choice of media was studied in

the teacher-training college of the State of Kuwait. Seventy-eight students, all females,

between 19 and 22 years of age in the training program for teachers and the media

specialists program for primary education participated in the study. Each group was

divided into four subgroups. Three subgroups of each group studied three different

instructions for media selection based on specific instructional design models. A fourth

group was assigned as a control group. The models were derived from the Problem-Based

Instructional–design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000). The students were

administered a pretest and a posttest on media selection, and a questionnaire for

measuring the students’ affective reception of the usefulness of the instruction. Significant

differences in media selection skills were shown in the second and third instructions of the

training program for teachers. This result supports the assumption that media selection

decisions are part of and embedded in instructional design model.

6.2 Introduction

To train for their jobs as elementary school teachers, the students of a teacher training

college have to learn to design instructional communications, select a proper medium that

will promote learning, and produce instructional materials to be presented using that media.

These are complicated tasks as they have to meet the following three conditions:

1. Categorize subject matter envision the domain and understand its conceptions, isolate

the relevant objects, events and situations and understand what happens to these objects

under different conditions.

2. Relate the representation of the reality with media selection by taking into

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consideration, both, the signs (pictures, schematics, symbol systems) to be used, and the

appropriate technical equipment to present and interact with the signs.

3. Initiate instructional communications by understanding instructional design theory

involving the description of the different conditions and representation of the objects in

reality.

The teachers have to acquire an integrated body of knowledge and skills for the proper

selection of media. They also have to understand the specific circumstances and conditions

of using a certain type of medium (media) for the acquisition of a certain type of knowledge

and skills. The conditions include the type of knowledge and skills such as how to

categorize objects, interpret their change and design new objects, and which medium to use

to represent the objects. They also have to understand the effect each medium might have

on the construction of knowledge and skills.

The relationships between these conditions should be integrated and presented to the

teachers, so they can develop their knowledge and skills on the selection of an adequate

medium (media). Instructional design theory provides an effective frame in which these

conditions can be integrated and presented. The development of the teachers’ knowledge

and skills of appropriate media selection should be grounded in instructional design theory

and integrated with the rules of media choice.

If knowledge about the conditions is acquired and integrated with their classroom

experience, the task can be performed well. If the knowledge about the conditions is not

integrated with the teaching it can be insufficient and result in an inadequate selection of a

medium. The students often have difficulty with media selection, because they are unable

to relate the selection to the categorization of the subject matter content. Often their training

is mainly devoted to classroom practices. They profit from their internships by

observational learning, but do not integrate their observations with instructional design

theory. By the end of the training period they acquire only a novice level knowledge in

instructional design theories and teaching skills, including the selection of a proper

medium.

In the research, described in this chapter, the effect of three instructional conditions for

media selection is studied. The conditions contain prescriptions for media selection with an


increase in detail. The specific instructional designs that are used are derived from a general

instructional design model and can be extended to different levels of content areas.

A comparison on the correctness of media selection is made between teacher-training

college students preparing for teacher profession, and media production specialists program

students training in the techniques of media production.

It is supposed that the students of the teacher-training group will be able to integrate

instructional design theory with their knowledge of the subject-matter content, teaching and

selection of proper media.

6.3 Instructional Communication

Instruction is one part of communication between a teacher (tutor, mentor, instructional

program, etc.) and a learner about objects (entities, events, situations) in a reality and

conceptions about those objects, such as how to categorise them, how they change and how

to design them. The other part of the communication is the learner’s reaction to the

instruction such as giving answers, asking questions or performing a task. Learners often

need instructions and ask for it. The goal of instructional communication is to help students

to acquire knowledge and learn skills for performing tasks in and outside of schools.

Instruction is an activity that is intended to support the development of knowledge and

skills, and this activity can be structured from general to specific guidance. The

instructional part of the communication is an activity expressed in language and gestures,

and opportunities for practice in environments and with objects that are designed for

learning. In typical circumstances, the communication takes the form of an interaction

between a teacher and a learner about the objects involved. In collaborative learning, the

communication will be an interaction among members of a group of students about the

objects involved.

Instruction implies that students need to be coached to find relevant features of objects

and learn how those features change to produce a certain outcome. A teacher needs the

knowledge on how to design relevant instructional communications. The learners need

assistance in structuring problems and understanding the content of the subject matter.

Because instructional communication concerns objects in and conceptions about a reality, it

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is necessary for an instructional designer to know how to represent this reality. For the

representation of the reality and its conceptions, media is necessary. Instructional design

theory usually includes statements on how to represent the objects involved and which

technical media to use for the subject matter involved.

Instructional design models specify the rules needed to design instructions. If these rules

are appropriate, and if they are grounded in an instructional design theory, it is supposed

the instruction will promote the students’ learning. Most instructional design theories can

be considered as general theories covering a wide range of application that deliver the

framework, models and strategies for the development of a specific design for a specific

context (Flechsig, 1997). For the integration of instructional design knowledge and the

selection of media, three types of specific instructions intended for the study of media

selection were developed. They were derived from the Problem-based Instructional Design

Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997b, 2000). It is a general instructional design theory and

provides the framework for the development of specific designs.

A general assumption of the theory is that human beings have a need for understanding

the reality in which they function and that this need leads to exploration and discovery,

systematic observation, and research and development. These activities are goal-directed

and labelled problem solving. The result of these activities is the construction of knowledge

and problem-solving methods. Dijkstra’s theory (1997b, 2000) assumes that the

development of knowledge is fostered by problem-solving activity. This means asking

questions about objects in the reality, operating on objects or their representations and

observing what happens. Asking questions will focus the students’ attention on the relevant

features and lead to categorization of objects and situations. Operations on objects will help

the students to understand their change.

Dijkstra (1997b) and Dijkstra and Van Merriënboer (1997) distinguished three

categories of problems:

(a) Categorization problems: objects (often labeled instances) must be assigned to

categories or the relationships between categories should be identified. The knowledge

resulting from such problem-solving activities are class and relational concepts.

(b) Interpretation problems: the students should perceive and interpret the change of


objects. The knowledge resulting from this problem-solving activity includes principles,

causal networks and explanatory theories.

(c) Design problems. For solving a design problem an artefact must be created,

developed and used. The knowledge resulting from solving design problems includes

design rules, plans and procedures and prescriptive theories. For solving the design

problems the students will be assisted in designing (sketch, draw, compose) and producing

(develop, make) objects and using and maintaining objects.

Dijkstra and Van Merriënboer (1997) supposed that the three categories of problems are

fundamental to the construction of knowledge and skills. All the knowledge and skills

resulting from solving these three categories is stored as information and problem-solving

methods. Parts of these encompass the content of a subject area.

In the second part of the theory, the situations and conditions for media use are

described. Specific rules for adequate media selection to solve each type of problem are

provided (Dijkstra, 2001).

6.4 The Medium

The content of an instruction, which is a result of the teacher’s cognitive activity, refers

to objects in a reality and their conceptions. The content is conveyed by and stored in a

medium, which represents these objects and carries the message from a sender (teacher,

student) to a receiver (student, teacher), who can perceive the message by their sense

organs. The term medium has different meanings, three of which are used in this study (for

an overview, see Seel & Winn (1997)). Originally, the medium was the human voice and

gestures that carried the message from the teacher to the student and vice versa. The

students experienced the reality itself. Voice and gestures were (and are) used for different

instructional purposes. For example, show objects, gain attention, indicate the relevant

features of the objects, show the similarities and differences, show regularities in the

change of objects, describe the conceptions (categorizations and processes) and inform the

students what to do to design and make objects.

The development of “pictures” or picture languages, and as a derivative of it the script,

changed the meaning of the concept medium. From then on objects could be represented

Chapter 6112

(depicted) by signs and later the conceptions could be described in symbols. Seel and Winn

described the rules to represent objects and denote messages by signs as the code-related

conception of medium (Seel & Winn, 1997).

Besides the development of signs, the technical development of information carriers and

the apparatuses to make the information perceptible to the senses are important milestones

in the use of media. The use of clay tablets, parchment and paper made instruction

independent of time and place, and made it possible for many persons to use the

instructional message. Scrolls and books were developed. Industrial production of paper

and the invention of the printing press made mass production of pictures and text possible.

In the 19th and 20th century, other information carriers were developed: celluloid and

silicon chips. The first is used for photographs, slides, transparencies and motion pictures.

The second is used for digitally storing all kinds of information, both in visual and audio

modes. The technical devices such as projectors, monitors and computers made the

perception of information possible. Paper and computers are useful for perception,

manipulation and transport of information.

Among the different possible meanings of medium, the authors distinguish the medium

as:

(a) “Voice and gestures” to convey a message;

(b) Signs to represent objects, the conceptions about these and how to denote the

message;

(c) The technical device to carry the information and make it available.

6.5 Reality or a Representation of Reality?

Because the content of instruction is about objects in a reality, the teacher has to decide -

whether to use the real objects or a representation of those objects or both (Dijkstra, 1998).

The arguments to use real objects state that the students can perceive these with their senses

and experience them, operate on them to learn how they behave and are used. The

arguments to use a representation state (a) the impossibility to perceive the objects with the

naked eye or the physical distance to the object (e.g. atoms, planets, historical buildings in a

foreign country), (b) the experimentation necessary to come out with evidence for the


structure of reality (matter, molecule, atom), (c) the duration of a process, and (d) the risk

for damage and personal safety.

If a representation of the real objects is used as a medium the teacher has to answer two

questions. The first question is whether an object has to be shown (picture, drawing, and

photograph) or whether the change of an object or change of its position has to be shown to

the students (movie, time-lapse photography, and animation) and manipulated (simulation)

or whether operations have to be carried out. The second question is whether a

demonstration model or a simulator (for example a flight simulator) has to be used.

Actually, in the last case the real objects are used in such a way that the risk of damage is

minimized, which is one advantage of interactive simulations in learning and instruction.

6.6 Media Choice

A decision has to be made on whether to use real objects or their representations or both.

In all cases, the learning environment should meet the following two conditions. The

objects that are used or represented should clearly show the relevant features, the

regularities if they change and ways to design and construct them. Besides this, it should be

possible to interact with the objects. The instructional designer will always try to construct

a learning environment in which the students can be active, consult the reality and operate

on it. For the choice of a medium or media the following questions are relevant:

(1) Whether an object has to be shown and which information carrier will be used

(picture, drawing, photograph, slide, transparency), or whether the change of an object or

change of its position has to be shown (movie, time-lapse photography, animation,

simulation) and how the students can interact with the object.

(2) Whether a demonstration model or a simulator has to be developed and used. The

real objects are used in such a way that the risk of damage is minimal.

For solving identification and interpretation problems the perception of regularities is

essential and the students will try to deduce a hypothesis from the regularities they

perceive. The objects to be categorized can often be drawn or shown as pictures. In case, a

process has to be categorized and motion shown, videos and simulations could prove to be

useful.

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For learning to solve interpretational problems, the cognitive constructs are the basis for

hypotheses and theories that explain change. Based on the hypotheses and theories,

predictions can be made or explain the resulting change. For showing change, data have to

be collected in different conditions or a process has to be shown. Slow motion of a process

shows what actually occurs (e.g. show how an insect flies). Visualisation of models and

simulation of a process are useful for supporting learning. Based on regularities in patterns

of data the students should be able to deduce a rule.

For solving design problems, a distinction must be made between different sub-problems

such as design of new objects (artefacts) leading to a prototype; the construction

(development) of objects; the operation, maintenance and repair of the objects; and the

archiving, restoration or discarding of the artefacts. In the case of design, visualisation

(drawings) and often three-dimensional models (as prototypes) can be used. For training

purposes, e.g. to learn how to construct the object, videos of comparable cases can be used.

For maintenance, training drawings, video and visualisations on CD-ROM are useful. For

learning how to operate complex equipment and complex processes, simulators are

valuable.

The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model thus provides a framework

for the design and the development of a chosen part of the content of a subject that is

characterised as a description, an interpretation or a design. The theory and model further

provides the rules for the selection of a proper medium (media) based on that content. In

addition, the theory can cover a wide range of applications that contain other related

perspectives. The effect of media on learning and the acquisition of knowledge (cognitive

constructs) has been described and related to the capabilities of each type of medium. Thus

the teachers should be able to understand how to solve each type of problem and develop

the cognitive constructs with the support of a medium, both code related and technical.

6.7 Media and Learning

The contribution of media to learning should be considered in terms of their underlying

structure and the causal mechanism by which they might interact with cognitive and social

processes (Kozma, 1994). He assumed that a medium can be distinguished from others by


its cognitively relevant capabilities or attributes that include a medium’s technology,

symbol systems and processing capabilities. The cognitive effect of a certain medium is

attributed to its technological characteristics (mechanical and electronic aspects, such as,

book, television, radio, computer, etc.) that employ certain symbol systems and the

processing capabilities on these symbol systems. For example, television can be considered

as a medium that is capable of employing representational (i.e., pictorial) and audio-

linguistic symbol systems, video and motion film can be thought of as equivalent in this

regard, whereas they can be distinguished from radio which employs a subset of these

symbol systems (Kozma, 1991).

A certain symbol system of a medium may have different effects on the learner’s mental

representations than another system. Salomon (1994) contended that certain symbol

systems may be better at representing certain tasks, and that information presented in

different symbol systems may be represented differently in memory and may require

different mental skills to process. For example, the cognitive effects of books are different

from other media such as a television or a computer because of the differences in their

characteristics and the different symbol systems they employ. Books are characterized by

the symbol systems of text and pictures. Each of these symbol systems involves the specific

construction of mental representations, and the combination of pictures with text may have

certain cognitive effects. In addition, the learners’ comprehension and learning can be

achieved by the stability of these symbol systems in the book. The learners will slow their

rate in reading, make more or longer eye fixations, or they may regress their eyes going

back to review a word as an aid to retrieving a meaning for it by interaction with their prior

knowledge (Kozma, 1991).

Learning from television implies different cognitive effects. The symbol systems which

television employs pictures, diagrams, and other representational symbol systems are

transient and able to depict motion. The presentation of information by a combination of

visual and auditory symbol systems in television resulted in more recall than the visual-

only or audio-only presentations. The processing of transient information, characteristic of

television, may have some advantages in the development of dynamic mental models,

which are used to reason through the solution of problems.

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Computers have been considered as prototypic processors because of their capability of

transforming and proceduralizing information. The capability of transformation can be used

to aid students in constructing links between symbolic domains, such as graphs, and the real

world phenomena they represent. Whereas proceduralizing of information can play a role in

aiding learners to elaborate their mental models and correct their misconceptions with the

use of microworlds (Kozma, 1991).

This perspective of the cognitive effect of media is consistent with, and can be integrated

with the prescriptions of the Problem-based Instructional- Design and the related rules for

media selection. (see Dijkstra, 2001). For the selection of a proper medium (media)

teachers have to distinguish the three types of problems and the features of the resulting

knowledge and methods. They also have to decide whether to use real objects or their

representation, and which representation is adequate for the subject involved. In case, a

representation is used, teachers have to understand the different meanings of the concept

medium (media), the conditions and situations of using each type of media and the

students’ task to solve problems by using the medium. Moreover, the teachers have to

understand the cognitive effect of each type of medium and its relationship with the

intended knowledge and skills.

For the development of the teachers’ knowledge and skills on the selection of proper

media three types of instructions were developed using the Problem-based Instructional

Design Theory and Model:

In the first type of instruction, the distinctions of the three types of problems, the

description of the objects involved and the features of the resulting knowledge and methods

were clarified. The teachers should be able to recognize these features to design the

problems for the students to solve, and describe the students’ tasks. There is no special

attention for the selection of media.

- In the second type of instruction, media characteristics and the rules of adequate media

selection were clarified. The teachers have to first know the type of problem to be solved.

Then, they have to decide whether to describe the object, show the process of change of an

object, or show the plan for the design or the development of an object. In the third step, for

all types of problems, the teachers have to recognize the conditions and circumstances of


the object, and make a decision whether to use a real object or a representation of it. If they

decide to use a representation, then, they have to choose a medium appropriate to the

problem type. In case of categorization, they have to decide whether to explain the objects

by text only, or visualized by transparency, slides or charts. For solving an interpretational

problem, the teachers have to determine whether the students’ manipulation is required or

not. For solving a design problem, a distinction to show the design or the development of a

new object should be made. In the first case, visuals (e.g drawings, charts, photography)

and three-dimensional models can be used. For showing the development of new object,

video film can be used. However, if the manipulations are required, a three-dimensional

model and a computer simulation would be the most adequate media.

- In the third type of instruction, the rules for media selection were extended to include

the relationships between the cognitive effect of media and the resulting knowledge and

skills by solving the three types of problems. The rules for media selection covered the

lowest level of performance of the resulting knowledge and skills, which are to remember,

recognize, and imagine the concept, principle, or the design and development of an object.

For solving the categorization problem, the object can be represented by visuals (e.g.

transparency, slide series, charts) only or by text (e.g. audiotape) or by a combination of

text and visuals in a textbook. For solving an interpretational problem, the change or the

process of an object can be shown by using a movie or a simulation. For solving a design

problem, the distinction should be made between the design and the development of an

object. For the representation of the steps of designing the object (the sketch), visuals (e.g.

transparency, slide series, charts) can be used to show the steps and three-dimensional

model (prototype) can be used to show the artefact. For the representation of the

development of an object, video film can be used. In case, manipulation is required a three-

dimension model can be used or a computer if the proceduralization of an object is

involved.

These three types of instructions are considered specific rules for media selection. The

rules should be obvious for both the teacher and the media production specialist.

In this project, each of the three subgroups of the teachers and media specialists will

study one of the specific instructions. The teacher-training program students had already

Chapter 6118

completed the courses on the content of subjects for elementary school and the teaching

methods of these subjects. The media specialist program students had completed the

courses on production techniques of various types of media.

It is assumed that the students of the teacher-training program will be able to integrate

the instruction with their knowledge of the subject content. As a result, they will be able to

apply this integrated knowledge in their classrooms. It is also assumed that their media

selection will benefit if they learn how to describe an instructional design problem, and are

able to apply this knowledge and integrate it in their classroom practice. They probably will

make more correct decisions about which medium to use than students who are only trained

as media production specialists. The students of the teacher-training colleges usually pay

attention to the content of a subject matter, and teaching methods for specific subjects, such

as reading and spelling, mathematics and science. Whereas students who are trained in

media production techniques have knowledge “about techniques and not about content”.

Instructional design theory which provides the prescription of how to categorize the content

of a subject and the resulting knowledge, might not be sufficient to improve the teachers’

skill for the proper selection of media. It should also contain the rules for media selection

according to their characteristics or their special features. The selection of proper media

requires the application of an integrated body of knowledge and skills from the content of a

subject and its representation. On the other hand, just the knowledge of media production

techniques will not integrate with the knowledge and skills on media selection, even though

the instructional design theory presents the rules for media selection.

6.8 Method

6.8.1 Participants

Seventy-eight third and fourth year female students (Between 19 and 22 years of age)

from the College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait participated in the experiment.

41 students were selected from the Pre-Service Teacher Program, and 37 from the Pre-

Service Media Specialist Program. The participants of each program were randomly

assigned to 4 subgroups. Three subgroups received three different instructions (conditions)


and the fourth subgroup was assigned as control group that did not receive any instruction.

The participants of both programs took the same curriculum, except for courses on

instructional media and the courses in the vocational (professional) domain. The teacher-

training program students took one course on media orientation and one course on media

production techniques. They also took courses on the subject matter content for elementary

school, and on teaching this content. The courses included Teaching Mathematics,

Teaching Science, General Chemistry, Basic physics, General Geology, Basics in Plant

Science, General Animal Science, Physical Chemistry, Electricity and Magnetism,

Economical Geology, Introduction to Astronomy, Classification of Plants’ World, Human

Biology, and Science Laboratory.

The media specialist program students took various courses on media concentrating on

production techniques for several types of instructional media. These courses included

Computer use for Learning, Instructional Drawings, Basics of Photography, Charts and

Models, Educational Films and their Application, Educational Television, and Educational

Hardware and equipment.

However, both groups did not acquire the basic knowledge of instructional design. The

courses of both programs were not embedded in a general instructional design framework

that could integrate the knowledge of the subject, the teaching methods and instructional

media and the relationship among them, because no course on instructional design was

available or included in any required courses. For participating in the experiment the

students were rewarded by reducing their study load for an existing subject by 10 %.

6.8.2 Material

Three different written instructions for media selection were developed, based on the

Problem-based Instructional design theory. The instructions differ in the content of

instructional design, media characteristics and relationship between media characteristic

and cognitive processing.

The first instruction included the description of the instructional design theory and

model. The content included:

1. Instructional design theory

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2. Problem-based Instructional design Theory and Model

3. Types of problems: problems of categorization, interpretation and design, and the

resulting knowledge and skills

4. Levels of performance

5. Analysis of the content of the subject “The Solar System”.

The second instruction included the description of instructional design theory and media

characteristics. The content included:

1. Instructional design theory


3. Types of problems: problems of categorization, interpretation and design


5. Reality or representation of reality

6. Definition of media

7. Analysis of the content of the subject “The Solar System”

8. Flowcharts of media selection related to the type of problem and the resulting

knowledge.

The third instruction included the description of instructional design theory and media

characteristics combined with information of special media features such as the symbol

system, the processing capability and the type of technology. The content included:

1. Instructional- design theory


3. Types of problems and the resulting knowledge


5. Reality or representation of reality

6. Definition of media

7. Characteristics of media: symbol system, processing capability and technology

8. Types of media and their features: textbook, television, computer, model, visuals

(chart, transparency and slide series)

9. Analysis of the content of the subject “The Solar System

10. Matrix of media characteristics and media selection


11. Flowcharts of media selection for the different types of problems.

The students were instructed on categorizing the problems within the subject and

selecting a medium for supporting the instruction by applying the specific rules of the

instructional design theory.

6.8.3 Design

Table 6.1 shows the groups and the instructions they received.

Table 6.1Types of Groups and Received Instructions

Groups Sub-groups participants Type of instruction

Pre-Service Media specialist(PSM).

First instruction (n = 10). Instructional designKnowledge.

Second instruction (n = 9). Instructional design knowledgeand media characteristics.

Third instruction = (n =10). Instructional design knowledgeand media characteristicscombined with knowledge ofspecial features. (symbolsystem, processing capabilityand technology).

Control group (n = 8). Control group. (no instruction).Pre-Service Teacher (PST) First instruction (n = 11). Instructional design

Knowledge.Second instruction (n = 10). Instructional design knowledge

and media characteristics.Third instruction (n = 9). Instructional design knowledge

and media characteristicscombined with knowledge ofspecial features. (symbolsystem, processing capabilityand technology).

Control group (n = 11). Control group. (no instruction).

6.8.4 Tests and Questionnaires

A media selection test, used both as a pretest and a posttest, was developed for

assessing the students’ media selection skills. The test items were new to the students. The

questions concerned the subject of house construction, which was borrowed from the

fourth grade science textbook of elementary schools in Kuwait. The content was analysed

Chapter 6122

and categorised into six problems corresponding to the problems of the instructional design

model. Students of elementary education can solve each problem if they have a proper

medium. For explaining how to solve the problems the participants in this study were

invited to select a proper medium from a list of seven possible media to convey the

instruction and support the learning corresponding to the problems and methods of the

instructional design model. A typical example of the test is shown in Appendix F.

The teacher training students were requested to select a proper medium from a list of

seven media – text-book, transparencies, slide series, chart, video film, model, and

computer – and assess its importance for supporting the instruction on a five point scale as

is shown in Appendix F. In the second part of the test, the students were requested to write

their arguments on why they preferred a certain type of medium or media. To assess the

students’ media selection skills, the experimenters compared the students’ scores with the

criterion scores, which were determined in advance. The students’ answers were scored as

“adequate” if they agreed with a proper medium (score ≤ 2) or disagreed with an improper

medium (score ≥ 4). If not, their answer was scored as “inadequate”. If all media choices

were “adequate” the total possible score equalled 42.

The questionnaire was developed to assess the students’ appreciation of the course on

the instructional design theory and model. It included 18 items, which could be answered

on a five-point scale. The students’ answers were scored from 1 to 5 from strongly agree to

strongly disagree. In addition the students were invited write their comments on the course

program.

6.8.5 Procedure

Each condition of the experiment required two sessions, the first taking 120 minutes and

the second 180 minutes. During the first session, the purpose of the experiment was

explained (45 minutes), the pretest administered (60 minutes), the instruction distributed

and a brief explanation of the content given (15 minutes). During the second session, one

week later the experimenter explained the instructional design theory and model and

answered the students' questions (90 minutes), administered the posttest (60 minutes) and

the questionnaire (30 minutes).


6.9 Results

Pretest. For determining the reliability of the pretest Cronbach’s α was calculated, yielding

a value of .77.

For the three experimental conditions, the means and standard deviations of the pretest

scores of the participants in both groups are shown in Table 6.2. As can be seen from the

table the differences in scores between the groups in the experimental conditions are not

significant. The only significant difference can be seen when a comparison of the scores of

the control conditions between both groups is calculated. The average score of the teacher-

training group was 15.36 and of the media specialist group was 17.62. The comparison

yielded a value of t = 2.11, df = 17, p= < .05. The significant difference was in favor of the

media specialist group. Based on the pretest scores of the participants, it was decided to

continue the experiment.

Table 6.2Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores on the Pretest for the Participants in the Teacher-training Program and in the Media Specialist Program in the Four Conditions

Condition M SD t df p.value

Teacher Media Teacher Media

First 18.27 16.10 3.59 3.07 -1.39 19 .17

Second 16.00 15.44 3.43 2.50 -.399 17 .69

Third 13.22 16.00 4.29 5.22 1.25 17 .226

Control 15.36 17.62 2.33 2.26 2.11 17 .050

Pretest-posttest comparison. For the three experimental conditions the means and standard

deviations of the scores of the teacher-training group on the pre- and posttest are shown in

Table 6.3. As can be seen from the results the differences between the scores on the pretest

and the posttest of the teacher-training students are significant for the second and the third

condition. In these conditions the instructional design categories were combined with the

characteristics of media. The pretest and posttest scores of the participants in the first

condition and in the control condition do not differ significantly. The comparison of the

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posttest scores of the participants in the three conditions with those of the control group

(Table 6.3) showed significant differences between the participants of the second and third

condition, and those of the control group. For the second condition t = - 2.77, df = 19, p =

< .05 and for the third condition t = - 2.10, df = 18, p = .05.

For the three experimental conditions, the means and standard deviations of the pretest

and posttest scores of the media-specialist training group are shown in Table 6.4. The

differences between the scores of the participants in all four conditions do not differ

significantly. The comparison of the posttest scores of the participants in the three

experimental conditions and the control condition showed no significant differences.

Table 6.3Means and Standard Deviation of the Scores on the Pretest and Posttest for the Participants in theTeacher Training Program

Condition Test M SD t df p.value

First Pretest 18.27 3.95 -.05 10 .956

Posttest 18.36 4.08

Second Pretest 16.00 3.43 -3.80 9 .004

Posttest 22.40 6.78

Third Pretest 13.22 4.29 -2.46 8 .039

Posttest 19.55 4.09

Control Pretest 15.36 2.33 -.38 10 .706

Posttest 15.81 3.84


Table 6.4Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores on the Pretest and Posttest for the Participants in theMedia Specialist Program

Condition Test M SD t Df p.value

Pretest 16.10 3.07First

Posttest 16.20 4.63

-.50 9 .955

Pretest 15.44 2.50Second

Posttest 17.77 7.32

-.87 8 .409

Pretest 16.00 5.22Third

Posttest 18.40 6.94

-.91 9 .384

Pretest 17.62 2.26Control

Posttest 17.00 3.62

-.25 7 .571

The results of the analysis of variance of the posttest scores are shown in Table 6.5.

There is no significant difference between the scores of the teacher-training students and

the media specialist students. However if the scores of the students in the three conditions

are taken together, a trend difference in favor of the students of the teacher-training

students is found. The average of all the scores of the teacher-training students was 20.06

and of the students of the media specialist training program was 17.44, the standard

deviations were 5.26 and 6.21. The comparison yielded a value of t = - 1. 74, df = 57, p =

.08.

Table 6.5Analysis of Variance of the Posttest Scores of the Students of the Teacher-training Program andthe Students of the Media Specialist

Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

Group (teacher/media) 102 1 102 6.79 .12

Condition 80 2 40 2.64 .27

Group and condition 1772 2 15 .452 .63

Questionnaire. A factor analysis of the scores of the questionnaire was calculated to

categorize them into subsets of scores. The results are shown in Table 6.6. Based on the

results of the analysis, five factors were distinguished, which describe 69 % of the

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variance. The decision to include a factor was taken if the eigenvalue of the factor > 1.00.

After this decision was made, the rotated component matrix and the factor loadings, using

the varimax solution were calculated. The factor loadings were used to categorize the items

of the questionnaire into five subsets. The highest factor loading an item had was used to

categorize the item in one of the five possible subsets of items. The factor loadings are

shown in Table 6.7. The content of the items was used to choose the name of the subset.

Table 6.6Principal Component Analysis Described Variance and Rotated Factors as a Result of the FactorAnalysis of the Questionnaire Scores

Component Initial Eigenvalues Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Total % of

Variance

Cumulative

%

Total % of

Variance

Cumulative

%

1 7.353 40.848 40.848 4.509 25.048 25.048

2 1.548 8.597 49.445 2.889 16.053 41.100

3 1.413 7.848 57.293 2.110 11.724 52.824

4 1.123 6.236 63.530 1.666 9.257 62.081

5 1.021 5.674 69.204 1.282 7.123 69.204

The 18 scores on the questionnaire were grouped into five subsets of items. The first

subset of 7 items was labeled "effectiveness". The score on this subset indicated whether

the instruction improved the students’ knowledge and skills on media selection. The

minimum score in this subset can be 7 if all scores corresponded with strongly agree and

the maximum score 35 if all scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The second subset

of 5 items was labeled “application”. The score in this subset marked whether the

instruction can be applied in the teacher education program. The minimum score in this

subset can be 5 if all scores corresponded with strongly agree and the maximum score 25 if

all scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The third subset with 3 items was labeled

"usefulness" which specified whether the instruction can be used for media selection. The

minimum score in this subset can be 3 if all scores corresponded with strongly agree and

the maximum score 15 if all scores corresponded with strongly disagree. The fourth subset


with 2 items was labeled "clarity", which indicated whether the instructions had been clear

for the students. The minimum score in this subset can be 2 if all scores corresponded with

strongly agree and the maximum score 10 if all scores corresponded with strongly

disagree. The fifth subset with 1 item was labeled “instance”, which indicated whether the

instruction included enough examples for the description of the concepts. The minimum

score in this subset can be 1 if all scores correspond with strongly agree and the maximum

score 5 if all scores correspond with strongly disagree. The average score of each subset,

which could vary from 1 to 5, was calculated according to the number of items in the

subset.

Table 6.7Rotated Component Matrix and the Loadings of the Items on the Factors

FactorsComponent

1 2 3 4 5

Q1 .193 .380 .252 .689 -.268Q2 0.08 .115 0.07 .839 .336Q3 .452 0.09 .611 -0.06 0.03Q4 0.08 0.01 .833 .294 -0.09.Q5 .743 .178 .231 .249 -0.04Q6 .245 .677 -0.02 .293 -0.03Q7 .714 .346 .209 .164 -0.08Q8 .791 .361 .104 -0.03 -0.05Q9 .790 .120 .154 0.06 -.144

Q10 .489 .255 .592 .209 .116Q11 .708 .186 -.183 0.03 .320Q12 .461 .660 0.08 .141 0.00Q13 .264 .808 .173 0.03 0.00Q14 -0.00 0.07 0.03 0.09 .879Q15 .289 .570 0.05 .243 .280Q16 0.03 .544 .506 -.177 .236Q17 .544 .346 .242 .223 .121Q18 .690 .190 .316 0.03 .130

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Mean scores of the subsets. The comparison of the mean scores and standard deviations of

the five subsets of items in the three instructions between the participants in the teacher

training program and the media specialist program are shown in Table 6.8, 6.9, and 6.10.

Table 6.8Comparison of the Scores on the Five Subsets of Items between Participants in the TeacherTraining Program and Participants in the Media Specialist Program in the First ExperimentalCondition

Subset M SD t df p.value

teacher media teacher media

Effectiveness 15.27 12.10 4.64 5.48 1.43 19 .16

Application 10.54 8.80 4.13 2.04 1.2 19 .24

Usefulness 5.09 4.60 1.51 1.42 .76 19 .45

Clarity 3.90 5.00 1.13 1.82 -1.66 19 .11

Instance 1.91 1.80 .94 1.03 .253 19 .80

Table 6.9Comparison of the Scores on the Five Subsets of Items between Participants in the TeacherTraining Program and Participants in the Media Specialist Program in the Second ExperimentalCondition



Effectiveness 10.80 12.44 2.85 6.02 -.77 17 .45

Application 8.50 9.22 2.22 2.90 -.61 17 .54

Usefulness 3.70 3.88 1.56 1.36 -.27 17 .78

Clarity 3.90 3.88 1.28 1.69 .01 17 .98

Instance 1.90 1.44 .99 .53 1.22 17 .23


Table 6.10Comparison of the Scores on the Five Subsets of Items between Participants in the TeacherTraining Program and Participants in the Media Specialist Program in the Third ExperimentalCondition



Effectiveness 11.55 8.80 2.87 1.81 2.52 17 .02

Application 7.22 6.40 1.30 1.64 1.19 17 .24

Usefulness 2.55 3.90 .72 .87 -3.61 17 <.01

Clarity 3.44 3.50 .88 .70 -.15 17 .88

Instance 2.11 2.00 .33 .82 .380 17 .70

6.10 Discussion

The pretest scores show no differences in the choice of medium for instruction between

any of the three sub groups of the students in the teacher training and the media specialist

programs. This means that at the start of the experiment, the choice of medium is neither

clearly related to the type of subject matter (concepts, principles, hypotheses, theories,

design rules) and the problems the students have to solve, nor to integrated instructional

design theories. Moreover the differences in the production techniques of media as a result

of training do not affect the choice of a medium for instructional purposes.

The comparison between the pretest and posttest scores shows significant differences in

the choice of a proper medium for the teacher- training students. The students in the second

and the third condition show a significant improvement in the quality of the media

selection. The teacher-training students who only studied the instructional design theory

and model did not significantly improve their choice of a proper medium. The media

specialist-training students do not show any significant increase in the quality of their

selection of a proper medium.

When the scores of the three subgroups are taken together, a trend difference is found

between the two groups in favor of teacher- training students.

The results support the assumption that the students of the teacher-training program are

better able to use instructional design theories and models for the development of specific

instructions for the content of the subjects. They also support the assumption that these

Chapter 6130

students are better able to integrate instructional design theory and knowledge of media

characteristics in the choice of a medium for developing their instructional materials. The

results of the study show that the rules for the choice of a proper medium should be

included in an instructional design model. The model should be acquired and used by

students of teacher-training colleges to improve their skills on the selection of proper

media.

The data show that the conditions in which the instructional design theory is

accompanied by information on media characteristics and special features of media

provided a frame in which the students can categorize the specific instructions and make a

proper choice of medium. In contrast to the results of Chapter 5, the specific instructional

design model, which includes only the rules for the categorization of a subject content,

does not provide a sufficient frame of reference for the choice of a proper medium. This

instruction does not improve the students’ knowledge and skills on the selection of

adequate media in both the teacher-training and the media specialist program. Further

practice of specific instructions for a subject, as instances to be categorized in a general

instructional design model, will be necessary. Such practice should be integrated with

media selection.

The pretest-posttest difference in the use of instructional design knowledge of the

students of the teacher-training program in the second and third conditions becomes more

salient if the scores of the questionnaire are taken into account. The lack of differences

between the scores of both groups in all subsets of the questionnaire for nearly all

conditions means that the students of both groups might equally profit from the

experimental instructions. However, in the third experimental condition the comparison of

scores shows some significant differences. The scores on “usefulness” shows a significant

difference in favor of the teacher-training students and the scores on “effectiveness” show

a significant difference in favor of the media specialist students. The media specialist

students appreciate the effectiveness of the instruction, but could not apply it for the

selection of proper media. This was due to the lack of practical experience with teaching

the content of the subjects. Their prior knowledge on the production techniques did not

assist them in understanding the instruction and make a proper selection of media.


On the other hand, the teacher-training students were able to recognize the content of

the subject as instances of instructional design categories for which a certain medium is

appropriate. They can apply the prescriptions of the specific instructional design model, as

is shown from the significant differences between the pretest and posttest in the second and

third instructions. They integrated this knowledge with their existing knowledge. This

improves their skills on the selection of proper media. For the media specialist-training

students, the production technique experience did not integrate with the prescriptions of the

instructional design model. Therefore, their skills on the selection of adequate media did

not improve. They have technical skills for media production, but when to use which

medium was not grounded in an instructional design theory.

The general conclusion from the results of this study supports the conception of

instruction as a communication between an expert and a novice (or novices) about objects

in a reality. For this instruction, a medium is necessary and that medium is chosen based on

the features of the objects and their change as is made clear in the instructional design

category.

Instructional design theory should provide rules for choosing a medium, which are

based on the state of the objects that are used in the instructions, and on what to do with the

objects for learning. If the teachers can apply these rules for the selection of a proper

medium, they also show their understanding of the theory.

Chapter 6132

General discussion 133

CHAPTER 7.

GENERAL DISCUSSION.

7.1 Assumptions on the Use of Instructional Design Theories and Models

for Teacher Training

The goal of the research, described in the previous chapters, was to study the effect of an

instructional-design theory and model as an integrative framework for teaching students in

a teacher-training college. The focus of the study was to find the effect of instructional

design knowledge on the selection and use of media, and on the production of instructional

materials. The general assumption, given in chapter 2, is that an instructional-design theory

that includes rules for media selection, both in the technical and representational sense, will

probably improve the teachers’ knowledge and skills for adequate medium (media)

selection. The media selection will probably be more appropriate if the theory about media

use in an instructional communication is integrated with instructional-design theory and

embedded in the teaching practice of the subjects.

Before designing the experimental studies, a survey was administered to the students of

the teacher training college. The purpose of the survey was to get information about the

students’ understanding of instructional communication, instructional materials, and the

different meanings of the concept medium and the production of instructional materials for

a certain medium. For this purpose, the survey was administered to the students who took

the Production of Instructional Materials course. The survey determined the students’

knowledge and skills on these aspects after the completion of the course. The results of the

survey show the students' opinions about the usefulness and shortcomings of the course.

The survey made clear that the students' knowledge of instructional design theory and

media selection was quite poor. The results prompted two studies in which the effect of

instructional design theory on media choice was determined. The studies described in

chapters 5 and 6 examined the effect of the students' knowledge of instructional design

theory on the selection of a proper medium.

The aim of the first study (chapter 5) was to investigate the effect of a general

Chapter 7134

instructional design model. In the second study (chapter 6), the effect of a general

instructional design model with related rules of media selection in increasing detail were

studied. The focus of these studies was to find the effect of utilizing the principles of

instructional design theory on the development of the teachers’ knowledge and skills on

media selection. The results of the studies are briefly discussed here.

For the selection of a medium that supports learning, the medium should appropriately

represent the subject content. The medium should be able to represent both the reality

(objects and events) and the conceptions of the subject involved. The selection of a medium

should be grounded in an instructional design theory and be one of the components of an

instructional design model. An instructional design theory is a set of statements that predict

whether an instructional communication will lead to the described goal. The statements

include the nature of the objects and the conceptions about these. If the teachers have this

knowledge, they will be able to apply it to the design of instruction, including the selection

of a medium.

The selection of a specific medium can be a difficult task for instructional designers and

teachers. That is because only a few rules are known about what the most adequate medium

(media) will be in the circumstances given (Dijkstra, 2000), and because of the numerous

criteria that have to be taken into account (Dörr & Seel, 1997). The selection of media is

part of an instructional design problem. It requires the teachers to know the state

(properties) of the objects and its conceptions, and understand how the students can learn

these. They should know how to design instructions (or an instructional communication)

and a learning environment for the students. The teachers have to understand the meaning

of instructional communications, instructional materials and the meaning of the concept

medium in order to make a proper selection of media.

Because instructional communication concerns objects in and conceptions about a

reality, it is necessary for an instructional designer to know how to represent this reality.

For the representation of the reality and its conceptions, media are necessary. Few

instructional design theories include rules on how to represent the objects involved and

which technical media are adequate for the subject matter involved.

Instructional design models specify the rules that have to be applied to make


instructions. If these rules are appropriate for designing instruction, and are grounded in an

instructional design theory, it is supposed that the instruction will promote the students’

learning.

7.2 Instructional Design Theory and the Selection of Media

The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997a, 2000,

2001) was used for designing and developing instructions (treatments) for the selection of

adequate media in the experiments for several reasons. The theory is founded in the

constructivist epistemological principles and embedded in the psychology of problem

solving. It assumes that the construction of knowledge and skills are a result of activities

such as observation, exploration, imagination, research and development.

If these activities are carried out in an unclear situation in which it is felt that something

is missing and if these activities are done in a systematic way the activity is labeled

problem solving (Dijkstra & van Merriënboer, 1997).

The result is the construction of new knowledge and skills. The theory is considered as

an integrative frame for the design of instruction and to provide an interpretation of how the

learners develop knowledge as a result of instruction. From this the prescriptions for the

design of instruction follow. They are presented as a model (Dijkstra, 2000) that includes a

set of rules. Based on a categorization of problems and the resulting knowledge and skills,

the theory first specifies the concept of "object" (entity, event, and situation). The results of

solving the specific problems are the conceptions about these objects, such as how to

categorize them, how to interpret their change, and how to design and make new objects.

The choice of a medium is determined by the state of the object that is needed for the

development of a specific type of knowledge.

The instructional design rules emphasize the students’ activity, and provide situations

for induction, and for the construction of knowledge and skills. The model includes the

main rules for the selection and use of media. The different meanings of the concept

medium (media) are clarified. For the choice of a medium the instructional designer or

teacher first has to solve the problem of how the students can access that reality. There are

two options: students are able to access the reality itself, or they will access a representation

Chapter 7136

of it. Second, for solving problems and for the acquisition of knowledge and skills, it is

necessary to provide a description of the real (or imagined) objects, to operate on the

objects, ask questions of the reality and if possible, get feedback after operating on it. Both

the representation of reality (medium) and the student’s manipulation should support the

acquisition of the intended level of performance. Third, even when real objects can be used,

the medium will be able to show the objects and their features in such a way that the

relevant features will be emphasized and the irrelevant ones will not get attention.

The instructional design model includes the role of the context for the acquisition of

knowledge. The context of learning of which the instruction and media are part is most

effectively situated in some meaningful real-world task (Jonassen, Campell & Davidson,

1994).

7.3 The Instructional-design Model and Its Use in Teacher Training Practice

The teacher has to find a means of communications to represent the reality of the

subject, and develop learning environments in such a way that the students can interact with

the reality. In order to prepare teachers for their jobs, the training program should contain

information and problem-solving methods in various fields like psychology, especially

learning theory and theory of motivation, instructional design theory and models, and

information and communication technology. These perspectives are included in the three

domains in the teacher education program. They are the cultural, the formal and empirical,

and the vocational (professional) domains. The courses in these three domains should be

presented in such a way that the teacher can realize and integrate their prescriptions, and

use them in the teaching situation. The problem is that in the teacher education programs in

the State of Kuwait, the relationships between these three domains are not clarified to the

students.

The content of each course is presented as a separate piece of knowledge (information).

The integration of their contents and the relationships between these courses have not been

clarified and practiced. For example, the Production of Instructional Materials course

which is considered as a core course in the teacher education program does not include the

basic principles of such relevant courses as the content of the subjects, instructional design


models, rules for media selection, etc. The results of the survey, described in chapter 4,

showed the shortcomings of the course. The content of the course, which focuses on the

production techniques of instructional messages for media, is not introduced or integrated

with the objectives, content of a subject, and instructional design. Some of the students

indicated that the focus of teaching the course was on production techniques only, and the

relationship between media, content and teaching process of a subject was not introduced to

them. This will lead to the students making errors and wrong choices of media.

The assumption is that for developing the teachers’ skills and capabilities, they should

be trained to utilize their knowledge and skills in an integrative way. The instruction for

selecting a technical medium, the production of materials for it (representations and

conceptions) and its utilization would be effective if the rules for design of the instruction

are introduced and integrated with the content of the subjects. For designing and developing

such instructional materials, the principles and prescriptions of an instructional design

model should be applied. Instructional design is the domain of design and development of

instructional materials, of the interpretation of its effectiveness and efficiency, and of the

rules that should be applied to reach the criterion. The teacher education program students

should acquire the knowledge and skills they need for their teaching practice. They have to

learn to design instructional communications with their students, produce or select proper

instructional materials (communicate the content of a subject) and put these materials in a

proper medium (media) that will promote learning. These tasks have to be performed for

the three different domains.

These tasks are complicated because they have to meet three conditions - categorize

subject matter, apply instructional-design theory and relate the representation of the reality

with media selection. If the knowledge to meet these conditions is acquired and integrated

with their classroom experience, the tasks can be performed well. If this knowledge is

composed of unrelated bits and pieces, and not integrated with the classroom experience,

the students will make categorization errors and an inadequate selection of the medium.

The students often have difficulties with media selection because they are unable to relate

the selection to the state of the objects involved and to the categorization of the subject

Chapter 7138

matter or parts of it. In their jobs at elementary schools, the teachers’ instructions should be

grounded in instructional design theory and integrated with media selection.

The effect of instructional design knowledge on the selection of adequate media was

studied with participants from the teacher training and media specialists programs for

primary education in the College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait. The two groups

were chosen because of the differences in their knowledge and practice with either teaching

or media production techniques. They completed the courses before they participated in the

experiments. The first group of students is trained for the job of teacher and the second

group for the job of media specialist. The participants of both groups took the same

program, except for courses on instructional media and courses in the vocational

(professional), empirical and formal sciences domain. The teacher-training program

students took one course on media orientation and one course on media production

techniques. They also took courses on the content of the subject matter for elementary

schools, and on how to teach this content. The media specialist program students took

various courses on media production techniques for several types of instructional media.

However, the programs of both groups were not embedded in a general instructional design

framework that could integrate the knowledge of subject matter, instructional materials and

the concept of a medium, because no course on instructional design was available in their

curriculum.

The study in chapter 5 examined the effect of a general instructional design model on the

selection of media. In chapter 6 the study examined the effect of an instructional design

model and different media descriptions in increasing level of detail. In both studies, the

assumptions were that the students of the teacher-training program would be able to

integrate instructional design theory with their knowledge of the subject matter content, and

choice of proper media. It became clear from the survey that these students usually pay

attention to the content of the subject and to the teaching methods for specific subjects,

though these are not integrated in a general instructional design frame. It is supposed that

the students of the media specialist program will not be able to integrate instructional-

design theory with their knowledge on media production techniques in such a way that they

will be able to make a proper choice of a medium, because they cannot integrate the theory


with the teaching practice. The results of the studies are measured with a pretest/posttest

that had the character of a transfer test.

7.4 Discussion of the Results

The pretest scores described in chapter 5 show no difference in the choice of media

between the students of the teacher-training and the media specialists programs. However,

the comparison between the pre- and post test scores of each group show that the students

of the teacher-training program show improvement in their choice of media whereas the

students of media specialist program do not show any improvement in their selection skills.

Moreover, the comparison between the posttest scores of the two groups shows a trend

difference in favor of the teacher-training students. These results support the assumption

that the students of the teacher-training program are able to use the general instructional

design knowledge for the choice of a proper medium in case of specific information that

belongs to a certain subject. The Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model

provided this general frame in which the students can categorize the specific instructions of

the subjects involved. If the categorization is correct and the state of the object is correctly

determined, the medium that is appropriate for the instruction will be correctly chosen.

In the next study (chapter 6), the effect of three specific conditions of the instructional

design model with information about media in increasing detail on the choice of the

medium was examined. The pretest scores in all conditions show no differences in the

choice of medium between any of the subgroups of the students in the teacher training and

the media specialist program. This means that at the start of the experiment, the choice of

medium is neither clearly related to the type of subject matter (concepts, principles,

hypotheses, theories, design rules) and the problems the students have to solve, nor to an

integrated instructional design theory. The differences in knowledge of production

techniques of media do not affect the choice of medium for instructional purposes.

The comparisons between the pretest and posttest scores of the students of the second

and third condition show significant improvement in the choice of a proper medium for the

teacher-training students. The students of the teacher-training program in the second

condition who studied the instructional-design theory and the media characteristics, and

Chapter 7140

those in the third condition who received instruction on the instructional-design theory,

media characteristics and the special features of media significantly outperform in their

selection of proper media. They also outperform those of the control group. The students

who studied only the instructional design theory and the students of the control subgroup

do not show a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores. The students of

the media specialist program do not show any improvement in their posttest choices,

neither between the groups as a whole, nor between any subgroup. They also do not show

any significant differences between any of the three subgroups and control group. When the

scores on the posttest for both groups are taken together and compared a trend in proper

media selection in favor of the students of the teacher-training program is found.

The results thus show an improvement in the choice of a proper medium for the students

of the teacher-training program. This improvement is found in those cases in which the

instructional-design theory and the rules for media selection are combined, and in those

cases in which the special features of media are combined with instructional-design theory

and media selection rules. These results support the idea that an instructional-design model

should provide prescriptions for the categorization of subject matter or parts of it and in

relation to this prescribe media selection. The knowledge of production techniques does not

improve the choice of a proper medium for instruction. It is concluded from the studies in

chapter 5 and chapter 6 that media selection decisions are part of instructional design

decisions. The selection of a proper medium (media) should be embedded in an

instructional design theory that includes relevant perspectives such as categorization of

instructional materials (content of a subject matter), rules for designing instructional

messages and problems, and rules for media choice and use.

A possible limitation of the study has been the duration for conducting the experiments.

The acquisition of a general instructional design theory and the use of a general model from

which specific instructional materials and the choice of a medium are derived are a time

consuming process. The Problem-based Instructional Design Theory and Model comprises

detailed and novel prescriptions that form the framework for designing and developing

rules for media selection. The time that was available was not sufficient for the students to

practice and understand the instruction as stated in their written responses. The students


were already enrolled in the course and only two classes of three hours each were available

for each experimental group. Because significant results were scored in both experiments, it

is supposed that the theory would be more effective if more time was available for

practicing. The students suggested that the instruction should be taught in a separate course

to all students in the College of Basic Education.

7.5 Concluding Remarks

The results of the studies show that the role of media in representing the realities and its

conceptions should be embedded in an instructional design theory. The theory provides the

body of knowledge for the design and development of the instructional communications

with the students including the use of media. The choice or selection of a proper medium,

both in the representational and the technical sense, is crucial for learning. The medium is

either a condition for learning or it provides a strong support for learning. The decision for

the choice of a proper medium (media) is based on the state of the object, the conceptions

of which are the content of the instruction, and on the conditions of the environment for

learning such as the possibility for interaction, making calculations and predictions, and

feedback. These perspectives are included in the Problem-based Instructional-Design

Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997a, 2000; Dijkstra & Van Merriënboer, 1997). The results

of the studies show that the students profit from the theory in making their decisions. The

results also show that the theory was more effective in improving the knowledge and skills

of the students in the teacher-training program. For the students of the media specialist

program, the theory did not have any effect and possibly led to inert knowledge.

The conclusion of the study is that the teachers' competence should be embedded in an

instructional-design theory. This means that they can apply the knowledge and skills that

are developed during their training in their jobs and for different subjects, because they can

categorize the content and make a choice for a medium in relation to that. The course on

Production of Instructional Materials should include the knowledge on the meaning of

instructional communications, instructional materials and the meaning of the concept

medium. The relationship between these concepts should be clarified to the students of the

teacher-training program in order to enable them to make a proper selection of media.

Chapter 7142

The failure of the media specialist program students on utilizing the instruction for

media selection based on an instructional-design theory and model can most probably be

attributed to the lack of practice on relevant aspects such as a content of a subject and

teaching it in schools. It seems that the selection of adequate media is an essential skill that

the media specialists should have. However, the results of both studies show the contrary.

They do not show any difference in their selection of media in all studies and conditions.

Therefore, the media specialist program should also develop the students’ knowledge and

skills on the content of the subjects and how to teach these. The curriculum for the training

of media specialists should include such courses to improve their skills on media selection.

References 143

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English summary 151

English summary

The context of the study, described in this dissertation, is The College of Basic Education

in the State of Kuwait. The study was inspired by the special problems faced by the

teacher-training program. These problems concern the production of instructional materials

and choice of a medium that the students of the teacher-training program cannot easily

solve. The study was carried out in cooperation with the students of The College.

The goal of the study is to understand the problems that the students have with the

production of instructional materials and to find ways to improve the knowledge and skills

of future teachers.

In the research project, a survey was first administered to find out the problems faced by

the students. Then, two experiments were carried out in which the effects of the use of an

instructional-design theory and model as a general framework for the production of

instructional materials were studied.

In Chapter 1, the context and goal of the research project are described. To prepare for

their jobs as teachers of elementary education, the students have to learn how to design

instructional communications within different domains, select a proper medium that will

promote learning, and produce instructional materials to be presented with those media.

Teachers have to find ways of communicating with learners about the context and

content of the problems and how to solve them; provide information if the students need it;

and explain the context in which the problems arise. In these communications, the teacher

has to represent reality in such a way that students are supported in gaining appropriate

knowledge about the particular reality, and learn and practice desired skills.

The goal of the teacher education program in the College of Basic Education in the State

of Kuwait is to develop the teachers’ knowledge and skills in three domains: (a) the cultural

domain, (b) the formal and empirical sciences, and (c) professional and vocational domain.

Each domain consists of several courses. The problem the students describe is the difficulty

of integrating the information from the three basic domains into a coherent body of

knowledge and skills that can be used for teaching (Abu-Zaina, Hassan, Al-Jazzar, 1990).

The goal of the dissertation is to develop a framework that can integrate these domains,

Summary152

and find ways to communicate this content with the students in such a way that learning is

fostered. The focus of the study, is to improve the students’ knowledge and skills in

developing instructional materials and the proper choice of a medium. The development of

such knowledge and skills involves the integration of the prescriptions of related courses

from the three domains.

The production of instructional materials and the selection of a specific medium, both in

the code-related sense and the technical sense, can be a difficult task for instructional

designers and teachers. This is because only a few rules are known about what the most

adequate media will be in the circumstance given and when to use them (Dijkstra 2001) and

because of the numerous criteria that have to be taken into account (Dörr & Seel, 1997).

In chapter 2, the definitions and conceptions related to media and instructional-design

are clarified.

The sign as the representation of an object in the reality was the second meaning of the

concept medium in education. The use of voice and gestures was the first (Seel and Winn,

1997). The latter was also one of the meanings of the concept medium that was used in this

study. A later use of the concept of meaning is to storing and presenting the script and the

signs on an information carrier (e.g., paper, celluloid, silicon chips). The information carrier

became a next meaning of the concept medium in education)

The rules for the selection of an adequate medium or media have been designed and

developed in relation to different learning theories and are presented in different

instructional design models (e.g., Cantor, 1988; Reiser & Gagné, 1983; Reynolds &

Anderson, 1992; Romiszowski, 1988). Since the media has been considered as merely a

vehicle (Clark, 1983) for the presentation of information, the research on media was

merged to the study of the effects of each type of medium on the cognitive processes. This

approach has been criticized. Instead the effect of media should be studied in the context in

which the medium is presented or selected. (Jonassen, Campbell, & Davidson, 1994). And

the effect should be studied as a result of media characteristics: technology, symbol

systems, and processing capabilities. (Kozma, 1991). This interpretation is used in the

research.

Instructional design is concerned with specifying the rules that have to be applied to

English summary 153

make instructions. If these rules are appropriate for designing instruction, grounded in an

instructional design theory and experimentally confirmed, it is supposed that the instruction

will promote the students’ learning and possibly improve it.

The Problem-based Instructional-design Theory and Model (Dijkstra 1997, 2000, 2001)

was considered as a proper theory to provide a frame for the design and development of

instruction for media selection. It presents the relevant perspectives for media selection in

an integrative way that supports the teachers in the selection of adequate media for their

teaching.

It was supposed that if the students use the prescriptions and rules for media selection,

presented in an instructional-design theory in an integrative way with their teaching, this

knowledge would facilitate the selection of appropriate media. If it is not possible to

integrate the theory and model with teaching practice, the students will not benefit from the

theory. Therefore, practicing only the production techniques of media will not develop the

knowledge and skills for the selection of adequate media.

This prediction is tested in the studies with students of teacher training program and

media specialist program from the College of Basic Education in the State of Kuwait.

In chapter 3, the development of the teacher-training program in the State of Kuwait is

described. The State of Kuwait has adopted the principle of preparing their teachers in

training colleges. The programs prepare the students for the different levels of education,

and for the various subjects and special tasks in order to achieve the objectives and

standards that are required by the State. Early attempts were undertaken in Kuwait in 1949,

1953, and 1954 to train teachers for primary education among Kuwaiti citizens. These

institutions of the teacher training program were given different names, aimed at different

goals and imposed different requirements. However, two distinctive steps were taken in

1981 and 1986. In 1981, the College of Education in Kuwait University, which trains

teachers for, jobs in kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary schools, was

established. The College of basic Education to train teachers for kindergarten and

elementary schools in Kuwait, and teachers for some subjects in the middle and secondary

schools was established in 1986-1987.

A survey was administered to determine the problems confronting the students of the

Summary154

college during their training. The teacher-training program consists of various courses

covering the three main domains. The survey was administered to fifty-six female and

seventeen male students of College of Basic Education who took the course Production of

Instructional Materials. The assumptions and the results of the survey are presented in

chapter 4. It was assumed that the content of Production of Instructional Materials course

should include the principles of other courses whether in the same domain (e.g., teaching

method, educational psychology) or from other domains (e.g., subject matter, educational

goals) to improve the students’ knowledge and skills on the choice and use of media. These

principles should be presented in an integrative way, such that the student can use them in

teaching.

The ultimate goal of the teacher-training program is to support the teachers in learning to

design and develop instruction, and in selecting an appropriate medium to convey and

support instruction. However, the results indicate that the students were mostly required to

produce instruction and put instruction on a medium without integrating media selection

with the objectives (problems), content, and instructional design for a subject. The

questionnaire data show that the course Production of Instructional Materials did not

include those assignments that integrate the instructional design principles with the subject

content.

In Chapter 5 the effects of a general instructional design theory on the selection of

adequate media is described. A written instruction for media selection based on the

Problem-based Instructional-design theory and Model (Dijkstra 1997) was developed.

A total of thirty-eight students of the college participated in the experiment. A

comparison on the appropriateness of media selection was made between students of a

teacher-training program who prepared themselves for the teacher profession and students

of a media production specialists program who were trained in the techniques of media

production. It was hypothesized that the students of the teacher-training group will be better

able to integrate instructional-design theory with their knowledge of the subject-matter

content, their teaching and their selection of proper media.

The results showed that the students of the teacher-training program made a significant

improvement in the choice of a proper medium. The general conclusion was that the

English summary 155

knowledge of the instructional design theory and model strengthened the skill of media

selection.

In chapter 6, the effect of instructional design knowledge and special information of

media features on the students’ choice of media was studied. The effects of three

instructional conditions for media selection were investigated. The conditions contain

prescriptions for media selection with an increase in detail. The specific instructional

designs were derived from a general instructional design model, - the Problem-based

Instructional-design Theory and Model (Dijkstra, 1997, 2000, 2001) - and were extended to

different levels of contents. A total of seventy-five students of the teacher training and the

media specialist program participated in the experiments. Each group was divided into four

subgroups. Three subgroups received different instructional conditions. The fourth

subgroup was assigned as a control group.

The comparison between the pretest and posttest scores of each subgroup showed

significant differences in the choice of a proper medium for the teacher-training group. The

students who received instructional design knowledge and media characteristics combined

with special features of media showed a significant improvement in the quality of their

media selection. The students of the teacher-training program who only studied the

instructional design theory and model did not significantly improve their choice of a proper

medium. The students of the media specialist-training program do not show any significant

increase in the quality of their selection of a proper medium.

The general conclusion is that media selection decisions are part of, and embedded in

instructional design model. Moreover, each instructional design model should include the

rules for the choice of a proper medium.

In Chapter 7, the results are discussed and recommendations given. The results of the

studies show that the performance of the students of the teacher-training program on the

choice of a proper medium was better than those of the media specialist program. Only the

teacher-training program students were able to integrate the instructional design theory with

media choice in their teaching practice. The decision for the choice of a proper medium

requires the integrated knowledge of the meaning of instructional communications,

instructional materials, the meanings of the concept medium and the content of a subject.

Summary156

Moreover, for the design and development of an instruction for selecting a technical

medium, the production of materials for it (representations and conceptions) and its

utilization would be effective if the rules for design of the instruction are introduced and

integrated with the content of the subjects. For designing and developing such instructional

materials, the principles and prescriptions of an instructional design model should be

applied.

The students of the teacher-training program should integrate the knowledge of

instructional design with their existing knowledge and use it for media selection. This

means that they can apply the knowledge and skills that are developed during their training

for different subjects, because they can categorize the content and make a choice for a

medium in relation to that.

The failure of the students of the media specialist program on utilizing the instructional

design knowledge for media selection can be attributed to the lack of practice on the

relevant aspects such as a content of a subject and teaching it in schools. The focus of their

practice was only on media production. The curriculum for the training of media specialists

should include such courses to improve their skills on media selection.

The general conclusion is that the selection of a proper medium (media) should be

embedded in an instructional design theory that includes relevant perspectives such as

categorization of instructional materials (content of a subject matter), rules for designing

instructional messages and problems, and rules for media choice and use.

Samenvatting 157

Nederlandse samenvatting (Dutch summary)

Het onderzoek project, waarvan u in dit proefschrift het verslag aantreft, heeft

plaatsgevonden op het ’College of Teacher Training’ van de Staat Kuwait. Het College

is een opleiding voor leraren voor het basisonderwijs en voor de eerste fase van het

voortgezet onderwijs. De aanleiding tot het uitvoeren van de studies waren de specifieke

problemen waarmee studenten van deze opleiding geconfronteerd werden en die ze niet

gemakkelijk op konden lossen. De studenten van deze lerarenopleiding lieten weten dat

ze moeilijkheden hadden met het ontwikkelen van instructiematerialen voor

verschillende vakgebieden en met de keuze van een medium. De onderzoeken zijn

uitgevoerd in samenwerking studenten van het College.

Het doel van dit project is de problemen, die de studenten van het College hebben

met het ontwikkelen van instructiematerialen, in kaart te brengen en een manier te

vinden om de kennis en vaardigheden van de toekomstige docenten te vergroten,

zodanig dat ze zelfstandig dit materiaal kunnen maken.

In het onderzoeksproject zijn eerst de problemen die de studenten hebben met het

ontwikkelen van instructiematerialen met behulp van een "survey" onderzoek in kaart

gebracht. Vervolgens zijn twee experimenten uitgevoerd waarin het effect van het

gebruik van een instructie-ontwerp theorie en model is bestudeerd als algemeen kader

voor de ontwikkeling van instructiematerialen.

In Hoofdstuk 1 is de context en het doel van het onderzoek beschreven. Om de

studenten van de lerarenopleiding voor te bereiden op hun baan als docent in het

basisonderwijs moeten ze leren hoe de instructieve communicatie in verschillende

domeinen met de leerlingen ontwikkeld moet worden, hoe het juiste medium gevonden

kan worden om leren te vergemakkelijken en hoe instructiematerialen ontwikkeld

kunnen worden die met behulp van deze media door docenten en leerlingen gebruikt

kunnen worden. De docenten moeten (a) manieren vinden om met leerlingen over de

context en inhoud van de problemen te communiceren en hoe die problemen opgelost

moeten worden; (b) informatie verschaffen aan de leerlingen als dat nodig is; en (c) de

context verklaren waarin de problemen zich voordoen. In deze communicatie moet de

docent de realiteit zodanig weergeven (representeren) dat leerlingen ondersteund

worden bij het verwerven van geschikte kennis over die werkelijkheid, zodat ze

Samenvatting158

vervolgens de gewenste vaardigheden kunnen leren en uitoefenen.

Het doel van de lerarenopleiding in het "College of Basic Education" in Kuweit dat

voor de studenten is geformuleerd, is het ontwikkelen van kennis en vaardigheden in

drie domeinen: (a) het culturele domein, (b) de formele en empirische wetenschappen,

en (c) de beroepsopleiding. Elk domein bestaat uit een aantal cursussen. Het probleem

dat de studenten van de lerarenopleiding aangeven, is de moeilijkheid om informatie uit

de drie basisdomeinen te integreren in een coherente verzameling van kennis en

vaardigheden die gebruikt kunnen worden voor het onderwijs (Abu-Zaina, Hassan &

Al-Jazzar, 1990).

Het doel van het proefschrift is om een theoretisch en praktisch kader te ontwikkelen

dat deze domeinen kan integreren en om van daaruit manieren te vinden om deze

inhoud te communiceren naar studenten op een zodanige wijze, dat het kader voor hen

ook gebruikt kan worden. Het doel van de onderzoeken die in dit proefschrift

beschreven worden is het verbeteren van de kennis en vaardigheden van de studenten

om instructiematerialen te ontwikkelen en om de juiste keuze voor een medium te

maken. De ontwikkeling van een algemeen kader kan helpen bij de integratie van de

inhoud van verschillende domeinen, die thans gezien worden als een verzameling van

niet samenhangende cursussen.

Het ontwikkelen van instructiematerialen en het kiezen van een bepaald medium kan

een moeilijke taak zijn voor ontwikkelaars van instructie en voor docenten. Bij de keuze

van een medium zijn de eigenschappen die het begrip medium definiëren van belang. In

het onderzoek is hiervoor gebruikt gemaakt van de categorisering van Seel en Winn

(1997). De keuze van een medium wordt bovendien bemoeilijkt doordat er slechts een

aantal regels bekend zijn over wat de meest adequate media zijn onder de gegeven

omstandigheden en wanneer deze gebruikt kunnen worden (Dijkstra, 2001), en vanwege

de talrijke criteria waar rekening mee gehouden moet worden (Dörr & Seel, 1997).

In Hoofdstuk 2 worden de definities en concepten die gerelateerd zijn aan media en

instructieontwerp behandeld. Het teken ("sign", "icon") als de representatie van een

object in de werkelijkheid was de tweede betekenis van het concept medium in het

onderwijs na het gebruik van stem en gebaren (Seel & Winn, 1997). Het is tevens één

van de betekenissen van het concept medium dat gebruikt is in dit project. Later werden

andere betekenissen van het begrip medium toegevoegd, zoals het medium in de zin van

Samenvatting 159

informatiedrager (papier, celluloid, silicon chips) om het script en de tekens op te slaan

en weer te geven. De regels om een adequaat medium of adequate media te selecteren,

zijn in relatie tot verschillende leertheorieën ontworpen en ontwikkeld en in

verschillende instructieontwerp modellen gepresenteerd (e.g., Cantor, 1988; Reiser &

Gagné, 1983; Reynolds & Anderson, 1992; Romiszowski, 1988). Vanaf het moment dat

media slechts beschouwd werden als drager (Clark, 1983) van informatie ging het

onderzoek naar media op in studies naar de effecten van elk type medium op cognitieve

processen. Deze benadering is sterk bekritiseerd. In plaats daarvan zou het effect van

media onderzocht moeten worden in de context waarin het medium gebruikt wordt of

gaat worden. (Jonassen, Campbell & Davidson, 1994). En het effect zou moeten worden

onderzocht als een resultaat van de karakteristieken van media: technologie,

symboolsystemen, en verwerkingsmogelijkheden (Kozma, 1991). Deze interpretatie is

gebruikt in dit proefschrift.

Instructieontwerp houdt zich bezig met het specificeren van regels die toegepast

moeten worden om instructies te maken. Als deze regels gebaseerd zijn op een

instructieontwerp theorie en door experimenteel onderzoek worden ondersteund, wordt

verondersteld dat de instructie het leren van studenten vergemakkelijkt en eventueel

verbetert.

De Probleem Gebaseerde Instructieontwerp Theorie (Dijkstra, 1997, 2000, 2001;

Dijkstra & Van Merriënboer, 1997) werd beschouwd als een geschikte theorie om als

kader voor het ontwerp en de ontwikkeling van instructie en voor de keuze van media te

fungeren. Het presenteert de relevante perspectieven voor media keuze op een

geïntegreerde manier die docenten ondersteunt in de selectie van geschikte media voor

hun onderwijs.

Er werd verondersteld dat als de studenten de voorschriften en regels voor media

keuze, zoals die omvat zijn in een instructieontwerp theorie, op een geïntegreerde

manier gebruiken in hun onderwijs, deze kennis de keuze van geschikte media zal

vergemakkelijken. Als het niet mogelijk is om de theorie en het model te integreren met

de onderwijspraktijk zullen de studenten geen baat hebben van de theorie. Daarom zal

het alleen maar oefenen van ontwerptechnieken voor bepaalde media de kennis en

vaardigheden voor de selectie van geschikte media niet ontwikkelen.

Deze voorspelling is getoetst in de onderzoeken met de studenten van de

Samenvatting160

lerarenopleiding en met studenten van het media specialisten programma van het

College of Basic Education in Kuwait.

In Hoofdstuk 3 wordt de ontwikkeling van de lerarenopleiding in Kuweit

beschreven. Kuweit heeft het principe aangenomen om docenten op te leiden op een

lerarenopleiding. Het programma bereidt studenten voor op verschillende niveaus van

onderwijs en de vele vakken en speciale taken om de doelen en standaarden, zoals die

verplicht zijn gesteld door de staat, te bereiken. De eerste pogingen om docenten op te

leiden voor het basisonderwijs voor inwoners van Kuwait werden ondernomen in 1949,

1953 en 1954.De diverse lerarenopleidingen hebben verschillende namen gekregen, ze

richten zich op verschillende doelen en hebben andere eisen gesteld gedurende hun

ontwikkeling. Echter, in 1981 en 1986 zijn twee belangrijke stappen genomen. In 1981

is het College of Education van de Universiteit van Kuwait opgericht. Het College of

Basic Education werd opgericht in 1986-1987.

Het College of Education van de Universiteit van Kuwait leidt docenten op voor een

baan op de kleuterschool, de basisschool en de middelbare school.

Het doel van het College of Basic Education is om toekomstige leraren op te leiden

voor kleuterscholen en basisscholen in Kuweit, alsmede docenten voor sommige vakken

in de eerste fase van het middelbaar onderwijs.

Het project is begonnen met het uitvoeren van een onderzoek ("survey") om de

problemen, die studenten van de lerarenopleiding gedurende hun opleiding tegenkomen,

in kaart te brengen. Het programma van de lerarenopleiding bestaat uit verschillende

vakken die de drie hoofdgebieden bestrijken. Zesenvijftig vrouwelijke en zeventien

mannelijke studenten van het College of Basic Education in Kuweit, die allen

deelnamen aan de cursus Ontwerpen van Instructiemateriaal, deden mee aan het

onderzoek. De veronderstellingen en resultaten van dit onderzoek zijn beschreven in

Hoofdstuk 4. Er werd verondersteld dat de inhoud van de cursus Ontwerpen van

Instructiemateriaal de principes zou moeten bevatten en integreren van andere

cursussen, ofwel in hetzelfde domein (bijvoorbeeld op het gebied van ontwerpen van

instructie en de onderwijspsychologie) of van andere domeinen (bijvoorbeeld keuze van

onderwerp en onderwijsdoelen daarvoor) om de kennis en vaardigheden van de

studenten op de keuze en het gebruik van media te vergroten. Deze principes zouden

gepresenteerd moeten worden op een geïntegreerde manier, zodat de studenten ze

Samenvatting 161

kunnen gebruiken tijdens het lesgeven.

Het uiteindelijke doel van het programma van de lerarenopleiding is om docenten te

ondersteunen in het leren ontwerpen en ontwikkelen van instructie en in het selecteren

van een geschikt medium dat door docenten en leerlingen gebruikt kan worden om hun

taken uit te voeren. De resultaten van het onderzoek geven echter aan dat verschillende

studenten laten weten instructie te moeten ontwerpen en een medium te selecteren

zonder deze te kunnen integreren met de doelen (problemen) en de inhoud van een

vakgebied. De resultaten van de vragenlijst laten zien dat de cursus Ontwerpen van

Instructiemateriaal niet uit opdrachten bestond die de instructieontwerp principes

integreren met de inhoud van het vak.

Het doel van de studie beschreven in Hoofdstuk 5 was het onderzoeken van effecten

van een algemene instructieontwerp theorie op de keuze van geschikte media. Een

geschreven instructie voor media selectie gebaseerd op de Probleem Gebaseerde

Instructieontwerp Theorie (Dijkstra, 1997) is voor dit onderzoek ontwikkeld.

In totaal achtendertig studenten van het College of Basic Education in Kuweit namen

aan het onderzoek deel. Er is een vergelijking gemaakt op de juiste keuze van media

tussen studenten van de lerarenopleiding die na hun studie het docentenvak in wilden en

studenten van een programma voor media ontwikkeling, die opgeleid werden in de

technieken van media ontwerp. Er werd verondersteld dat de studenten van de

lerarenopleiding beter in staat waren om de instructieontwerp theorie te integreren met

hun kennis over de inhoud van het onderwerp, het vormgeven van instructie en hun

keuze van geschikte media.

De resultaten laten zien dat de studenten van de lerarenopleiding significant meer

juiste keuzes voor een geschikt medium maken. De algemene conclusie was dat de

kennis van de instructieontwerp theorie tot een betere keuze geleid heeft.

In Hoofdstuk 6 is het effect onderzocht van kennis over instructieontwerp en kennis

over speciale informatie van kenmerken van media op de keuze van media door de

studenten. De effecten van drie instructie condities voor media selectie zijn onderzocht.

De condities bestonden uit regels voor media keuze met een toename in detail van de

regels. De specifieke ontwerpen zijn afgeleid van een algemeen instructieontwerp

model, dat is ontleend aan Probleem Gebaseerde Instructieontwerp Theorie en Model

(Dijkstra, 1997, 2000, 2001). In totaal vijfenzeventig studenten van de lerarenopleiding

Samenvatting162

en studenten van het media specialisten programma namen aan het onderzoek deel. Elke

groep was verdeeld in vier subgroepen. Drie subgroepen ontvingen verschillende

instructies. De vierde subgroep fungeerde als controle groep.

De vergelijking van de scores van elke subgroep op de voortoets en de natoets laat

significante verschillen zien in de keuze van een geschikt medium voor de studenten

van de lerarenopleiding. De studenten die instructieontwerp kennis en kenmerken van

media aangeboden kregen en studenten die instructieontwerp kennis en kenmerken van

media in combinatie met speciale kenmerken van media aangeboden kregen, maakten

significant betere keuzes van te gebruiken media. De studenten van de lerarenopleiding

die alleen de instructieontwerp theorie bestudeerden gingen niet significant vooruit in

hun keuze van een geschikt medium. De studenten van de opleiding voor media

specialist toonden geen significante vooruitgang in de kwaliteit van hun keuze van een

geschikt medium.

De algemene conclusie was dat beslissingen betreffende media keuze deel uit zouden

moeten maken en ingebed zouden moeten zijn in een instructieontwerp theorie en

model. Bovendien zou elk instructieontwerp model regels moeten bevatten voor de

keuze van een geschikt medium.

In Hoofdstuk 7 worden de resultaten besproken en worden aanbevelingen gedaan. De

resultaten lieten zien dat de studenten van de lerarenopleiding tot een betere prestatie

kwamen in het kiezen van een geschikt medium dan de studenten van het media

specialisten programma. Alleen de studenten van de lerarenopleiding waren in staat om

de instructieontwerp theorie te integreren met media keuze in de onderwijspraktijk. De

beslissing voor de keuze van een geschikt medium vereist dat de kennis van de

betekenis van instructieve communicaties, instructiematerialen, de betekenis van het

concept medium and de inhoud van een onderwerp geïntegreerd worden. Bovendien,

voor het ontwerpen en ontwikkelen van een instructie voor het selecteren van een

technisch medium, is het ontwerpen van materialen daarvoor (representaties en

concepties) en het gebruik daarvan effectief als de regels voor het ontwerpen van de

instructie geïntroduceerd en geïntegreerd zijn met de inhoud van de vakken. Voor het

ontwerpen en ontwikkelen van zulke instructiematerialen zouden de principes en regels

van een instructieontwerp model toegepast moeten worden.

De studenten van de lerarenopleiding konden hun kennis van instructieontwerp

Samenvatting 163

integreren met hun voorkennis en konden deze kennis gebruiken voor de media keuze.

Dit betekent dat ze de kennis en vaardigheden kunnen toepassen die ontwikkeld zijn

gedurende de training. En dat ze deze kennis op verschillende onderwerpen toe kunnen

passen, omdat ze de inhoud kunnen categoriseren en een keuze kunnen maken voor een

medium in relatie daarmee.

Het niet kunnen gebruiken van de instructieontwerp kennis voor media selectie bij

studenten van het media specialisten programma kan toegeschreven worden aan het

gebrek aan training op de relevante aspecten zoals inhoud van een vak en het lesgeven

op scholen. Zij concentreerden zich alleen op media ontwikkeling. Het curriculum voor

het trainen van mediaspecialisten zou dan ook meer aandacht aan instructieontwerp

theorie moeten geven om hun vaardigheden betreffende media keuze te kunnen

verbeteren.

De algemene conclusie die getrokken kan worden, is dat de selectie van een geschikt

medium (of geschikte media) ingebed zou moeten zijn in een instructieontwerp theorie

die relevante perspectieven bevat zoals een categorisering van instructiematerialen

(inhoud van een onderwerp), regels voor het ontwerpen van instructieve communicatie,

ontwerpen van problemen en taken voor de studenten en regels voor de keuze en het

gebruik van media.

Samenvatting164

Appendices 169

APPENDICES

Appendices170

Appendix A 171

Appendix A

Survey for measuring the students’ opinion on the course “Production of InstructionalMaterials”. (Appendix to chapter 4)Item Strongly

agreeAgree Disagree Strongly

disagree1. The objectives of the course were clear.2. The content of the course was clear.3. The teaching method was suitable for the course

content.4. The teaching method was suitable to reach the

course objectives.5. The assignments were clear.6.A. The prescription for coloring was clear.6.B. The prescription for lettering was clear.6.C. The prescription for using hardware was clear.6.D. The prescription for using software was clear.6.E. The prescription for making a drawing was clear.7. A subject was included for the production of

instructional materials.8. The objectives of the subject were clear.9. The content of the subject was clear.10. I have previous knowledge of the teaching

method of the subject.11. The selected media can reach the objectives of

the subject.12.A. The assignments can fulfil the objectives of the

course.12.B. The assignments correspond with content of the

course.12.C. The selected media can adapt the instruction to

individual differences among learners.12.D. The selected media for the representation of an

instruction involve learners’ interaction.12.E. The selected media can be used to evaluate the

learners’ understanding of an instruction.13. The time was enough for teaching the course.14. The classroom was suitable for teaching the

course.15. The course is useful for the teaching profession.16. There is a relationship between the course and

teaching profession.

Appendix A172

Survey for measuring the students’ opinion on the course “Production of InstructionalMaterials”(continued).

17. The time was enough to produce the requiredmaterials.

18. There are other types of media that were notcovered which can reach the objectives of thesubject.

19. I had the choice to select any type of media.20. The evaluation criteria were appropriate for the

produced materials. (Appropriateness ofcriteria).

21. The evaluation criteria for the productions wereclear. (Clarity of criteria).

22. The problems of a subject were explained beforethe materials were produced.

23. The selected media help the learner to solve theproblems of a subject.

24. The problems of the subject were clear.

Yes No

1.1 The course objectives were explained in thebeginning of the course.

1.2 The course content was explained in thebeginning of the course.

1.3 The evaluation criteria of the instructionalmaterials were explained.

1.4. The evaluation criteria of the course wereexplained.

1.5. The objectives of a subject were classifiedbefore producing the instruction on media.

1.6. The produced instructions were only for onesubject.

1.7. The assignments were explained in thebeginning of the course.

1.8A. Writing reports about instructional materialswas included in the assignments.

1.8B. Designing a lesson in which instructionalmaterials are used was included in theassignments.

1.8C. Practicing production technique of media wasincluded in the assignments.

Appendix B 173

Appendix B

Questionnaire for measuring the students’ knowledge and skills on media selection.Problems and media selection scale. (Appendix to the first experiment, chapter 5)

Select the most appropriate media for each type of problem. (The students are requested tofill in the form for each problem and for each medium that is given in the list separately.The problems are:

Problem 1The student has to describe the materials for building each part of the house. For example,Cement and iron for the foundations and columns, bricks for the walls, stones for the floor,wood for the doors and aluminum and glasses for the windows.

Problem 2The student has to recognize the steps of building a house: Building the foundation,building the floor, building the columns, building the ceiling, windows, doors, and so forth.

Problem 3The student has to realize the relationships between using the types of materials forbuilding the parts of a house and the weather condition in an area such as Kuwait: forexample, isolation board for outer walls, isolation sheets for the roof, concrete for columnsand ceilings, and so forth.

Problem 4The student has to predict what would happen when certain materials are not used inbuilding certain parts of a house on a location such as Kuwait with certain weatherconditions. For example isolation boards for outer walls, isolation sheets for the roof,concrete for columns and ceilings, and so forth.

Problem 5The student has to make a design for a house. So, the student has to practice, at this level,the first step for building a house, which is the drawing and the blueprints of the internallayout of the parts of a house such as, the living rooms, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, thekitchen, and so forth.

Appendix B174

Media selection scale.

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree1. Transparency

2. Slide series

3. Charts

4. Video film

5. Model

6. Simulation

Please answer the following question.

Why did you select such types of media for solving each problem?

Appendix C 175

Appendix C

Matrix of criterion scores of the problems (Appendix to the first experiment, Chapter 5)

Problem

Tra

nspa

renc

y

Sli

de s

erie

s

Cha

rts

Vid

eo f

ilm

Mod

el

Sim

ulat

ion

1. Description of materials + + + - - -

2. Recognition of steps + + + - - -

3. Realization of relationships - - - + + +

4. Prediction of events - - - + + +

5. Practicing a design - - - + + +

+: agree or strongly agree-: disagree or strongly disagree

Appendix D176

Appendix D

Achievement (knowledge) test. (Appendix to the first experiment, Chapter 5).

First part of the test (multiple-choice questions)

Select the correct answer:

1. The problem that categorizes instances, objects, and entities based on a concept is:

A. Identification B. Interpretation C. DesignD. All above

2. The problem in which the relationship between concepts must be identified is:


3. The problem in which an artifact must be created is:


4. The problem(s) for which concepts are basic to solve them are:


5. Concepts and descriptive theories are knowledge and skills that are acquired by solving:

A. Identification problems. B. Interpretation problems. C. Design problems.D. All above

Appendix D 177

6. Principles and explanatory theories are knowledge and skills that are acquired by solving:


7. Plans, procedures, and prescriptive theories are knowledge and skills that are acquiredby solving:


8. At which level of performance, both examples of the solution and the procedure toreach the solution are available for the learner:

A. LowestB. MiddleC. HighestD. All

9. At which level of performance only procedures to reach a solution are available for thelearner:


10. At which level of performance neither examples of an analogous solution nor the procedure to reach a solution are available for the learner:


Second part of the test (short answer questions)

Write a short answer:

1. The goals of education are:

Appendix D178

2. Information and problem solving procedures are categorized in two main ways:

A:B:

3. Identify the problem solving activity:

4. What is the meaning of instruction:

5. Instructional design is general and deals with:

A:B:C:

6. The way and frequency of communications between sender and receiver isdependent on:

A: B: C:

7. The aspects which have to be addressed that determine the selection and use ofmedia are:

A:B:

8. The students can access the reality by:

A:B:

Appendix E 179

Appendix E

Questionnaire for measuring the students’ affective reception of the experimentaltreatment. (Appendix, used in both experiments, Chapter 5 and 6)

Item Stronglyagree

Agree Neutral Disagree Stronglydisagree

1. The instruction was clear to me.2. The instruction was easy to me.3. The instruction was useful to me.4. The instruction was concrete.5. The instruction assisted me to chooseadequate media.6. The instruction is helpful for the teacherprofession.7. The instruction can be used for mediaselection.8. The instruction is a scientific foundationfor media selection.9. I am very persuaded (satisfied) by usingthe instruction for media selection.10. The instruction was a heuristic formedia selection.11. The instruction increased my interestson media selection and utilization.12. I suggest including the instruction inthe course program.13. You need the instruction on mediaselection in the program.14. The instruction on media selectioncomprised a sufficient number ofexamples to understand media selectionrules.15. I suggest to teach the instruction for allPre-Service Teacher and Pre-ServiceMedia specialists.16. The instruction can be used for mediaselection for all subject matter, (Science,Math, Social sciences, etc.).17. The instruction is a new strategy formedia selection.18. The instruction of media selection iscomprehensive for all subject mattercontent.

Appendix F180

Appendix F

Questionnaire for measuring the students’ knowledge and skills on media selection.Problems and media selection scale. (Appendix to the first experiment, chapter 6)

Select the most appropriate media for each type of problem. (The students are requested tofill in the form for each problem and for each medium that is given in the list separately. The problems are:

Problem 1The student has to describe the materials for building each part of the house. For example,Cement and iron for the foundations and columns, bricks for the walls, stones for the floor,wood for the doors and aluminum and glasses for the windows.

Problem 2The student has to recognize the steps of building a house: Building the foundation,building the floor, building the columns, building the ceiling, windows, doors, and so forth.

Problem 3The student has to realize the relationships between using the types of materials forbuilding the parts of a house and the weather condition in an area such as Kuwait: forexample, isolation board for outer walls, isolation sheets for the roof, concrete for columnsand ceilings, and so forth.

Problem 4The student has to predict what would happen when certain materials are not used inbuilding certain parts of a house on a location such as Kuwait with certain weatherconditions. For example isolation boards for outer walls, isolation sheets for the roof,concrete for columns and ceilings, and so forth.

Problem 5The student has to make a design for a house. So, the student has to practice, at this level,the first step for building a house, which is the drawing and the blueprints of the internallayout of the parts of a house such as, the living rooms, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, thekitchen, and so forth.

Problem 6The student has to be able to construct a house. Of course a representation of the houseshould be presented such that the student has to manipulate it for building a house. Thestages and steps of building such a house should be presented in the representation of theprocedure. The students have to arrange them in a certain way for building a house.

Appendix F 181

Media selection scale.

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree1. Text book

2. Transparency

3. Slide series

4. Charts

5. Video film

6. Model

7. Computer

Please answer the following question.

Why did you select such types of media for solving each problem?

About the author 182

About the author

Eisa Hasan was born in the State of Kuwait on February 14, 1960. He received his BA

from Kuwait University in 1981 and then started to work as a teacher of social studies in

secondary school. He received his MEd in Educational Communications and Technology

from University of Pittsburgh, United States of America, in 1985. Since then, his main

job was educational technology supervisor with Ministry of Education in the State of

Kuwait. In addition, he taught some courses of educational technology at the College of

Education of Kuwait University and the College of Basic Education in the Public

Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). In 1997, he received a

scholarship from the PAAET to prepare for the Ph.D degree in educational technology.

He then joined the Department of Instructional Technology at University of Twente. His

current research interests include: the effects of instructional design theories on the

development of the knowledge and skills of future teachers, the effects of instructional

design on media choice, and the integration of instructional design theories and models

on the development of the teacher training program.

Instructional Design and Media Selection

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