Abstract
The presumed importance of technology in enhancing students' motivation may call for a profound shift in pedagogy. In an attempt to inform evidence-based practice, this study examined the influence of videos mediated instructions on students' motivation towards learning Kiswahili proverbs in a sample of secondary schools of equal ability in Nakuru County, Kenya. A Solomon Four quasi-experiment research design was used. The 436 students who participated in this study had a mean age of 16.2 years (SD = 0 .89) with a nearly equal sex distribution. The 43 five-point Likert type motivation items used were reduced into three dimensions: affective, behavioral, and cognitive by use of factor analytic methods. Regression analyses highlight equivocal effects of technology on these three dimensions of motivation while teacher experience was a notable confounder. Pre-test effects were also evident. The study has important implications for promoting more ambitious teaching methods.
TopBackground
Students’ interest or motivation is generally considered to influence their academic performance (Makini, 2014). Emerging technologies world over, have in other areas of learning been shown to improve student motivation (Kong, 2009; Turuthi, Njagi and Chemwei, 2016; Youssef, 2012). Emerging technologies such as videos are a promising method of teaching Kiswahili proverbs (Turuthi, 2014). It is worth noting that in this era cameras are ubiquitous, affordable and easy to use. Similarly, both teachers and students own standalone cameras or phones with cameras and can therefore develop video clips. It is however not known if emerging technologies would apply in the teaching and learning of Kiswahili proverbs. The teaching of Kiswahili proverbs is conversely surrounded by controversy (Thompson, 2013). It is however not known if would influence students’ motivation in the learning of Kiswahili proverbs.
There is substantial evidence to show that technology is changing our way of life everywhere (Wamari, 2014). For example, Vidya (2014) views technology as a catalyst of new pedagogical change. In this direction, Wheeler (2000) observes that teachers have a duty to identify emerging technologies for use in an array of learning environments. It is worth noting that technology as a tool in learning has been embraced successfully in some fields of study for example in Biology and Mathematics (Ally, 2014 ; Goffe & Sosin, 2005). In this direction, technology is seen to offer flexibility and adaptability reflective of pedagogies across various learning models (Mayer, 2005). At the same time, technological tools supply vast amounts of information allowing teachers and learners, new ways to explore education compared to ordinary instructional tools (Vidya, 2014; Wamari, 2014). Vidya (2014) argues that if this is the case, technology should then change the way we teach. It is therefore prudent for the 21st century teacher to be familiar with and to integrate technology in teaching and learning.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Affective: Comprises a variety of constructs; academic self-esteem, anxiety, beliefs, tastes, appreciations, emotions, mood, conation, feelings (grief, joy, fear, anger) belief systems, personal interests, locus of control, preferences, values, persuasive outlook of life.
Traditional Methods: Lecture and demonstration method used to teach that does not assure consistence of content nor accommodate the diverse learning styles of learners to proceed at the same pace regardless of interest talent, demands on time and prior experience.
Cognitive: A term relating to the mind or mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, concerned with the act or process of knowing, perceiving. Knowing and understanding how the mind or brain works.
Technology: The entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this chapter, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems.
Proverbs: Short, generally known sentences of the folk which contain wisdom, truth, morals and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed and memorable form and which are handed down from generation to generation. Proverbs are a product of a given cultural context. They provide suitable illustrations for enlightening our understanding of a given situation.
Achievement: Ability to perform tasks in the area of recall, comprehension, application and higher order skills as a result of instruction.
Attitude: Tendency to think, feel, or act positively or negatively towards objects in our Environment (like or dislike. clusters of feelings, beliefs and behavior tendencies directed towards a psychological object.
Behavioral: A continuum of observable traits, a range of actions, practices, interventions, procedures, processes, responses, measures, approaches, functions, specificity or measured phenomena.
Motivation: The psychological process based on the attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction model that determines a learner’s behaviour, actions. It was measured using Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ).