i

THE UNIKL IPROM ENGLSH INSTRUCTORS’

COMPTENCY IN USING ICT: IMPLICATION

TOWARD STUDENT LEARNING AWARENESS

BY

HASMAWATI ISMAIL

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Education

Institute of Education

International Islamic University

Malaysia

APRIL 2012

ii

ABSTRACT

Computer technology is widely integrated in teaching. In fact, it has become an

indispensable tool in instruction. There were claims that student-centred learning

approach was practised in teaching and learning process using computer technology.

However, there were not many evidence to support the claims. This study set out to

investigate the use of student-centred learning approach, student satisfaction in the use of

various computer technologies, and student perception on English lecturers’ computer

technology competency in using computer technology. This present study utilized a self-

constructed questionnaire consisting 30 items which were based on previous literature

reviews and it was distributed to 300 respondents among UniKL IPROM students of

various semesters who had taken the required English courses. The analysis procedure

was descriptive statistics and other statistical analysis such as post-hoc and independent t-

test were also conducted using SPSS 11.5. This study suggests that English lecturers

need to explore student-centred learning environment and use or encourage students to

use various available computer technologies to promote their learning processes. It is

recommended that this study be extended to other lecturers instead of English lecturers

only in order to gain a comprehensive discovery of the computer technology used at

UniKL IPROM.

iii

البحث ملخص

، إنهفي الواقعو .جال التدريستكنولوجيا الكمبيوتر معروف في مإن استخدام

مارسةالم"دعاءات بأن توجيه هناك إ. التعليم في أداة مهمة ال غنى عنهاأصبح

تكنولوجيا باستخدام عملية التعليم والتعلم في "المتمحورة حول الطالب

تهدف هذه .هذه اإلدعاءات لدعم كافية أدلة لم تكن هناك ومع ذلك،. الكمبيوتر

" المتمحورة حول الطالب مارسةالم"توجيه استخدام تحقيق إلى الدراسة

حول طلبة الالمختلفة وآراء تقنيات الحاسب اآللي في استخدامالطلبة ءرضاو

.تكنولوجيا الحاسب اآللي في استخدام ةمحاضري اللغة اإلنجليزي كفاءة

سابقة من تصميم الباحثة إستنادًا إلى دراسات ستبياناتإ الدراسة ستخدمت هذها

وهم طالب في ثالثمائة شخص عنصرًا وتم توزيعها علىتتكون من ثالثين و

UniKL IPROMالمقررات المطلوبة درسواالذين و مختلفة فصول دراسية من

ستخدمت الباحثة اإلحصاء الوصفي في تحليل البياناتاو .باللغة اإلنجليزية

تقترح هذه SPSS11.5 ستخدامبإ "تى" ختباراو post-hoc والتحليل اإلحصائي

مارسةالم"حالة استكشافال بد من اإلنجليزيةاللغة محاضري الدراسة بأن

تقنيات استخدام تشجيع الطلبة على أواستخدام و "المتمحورة حول الطالب

يتم فمن المستحسن أن. تعليمهم عمليات مختلفة الموجودة لتعزيزال الكمبيوتر

من ليزيةمحاضري اللغة اإلنج غيرآخرين محاضرين إلى هذه الدراسة تمديد

UniKL في الكمبيوتر المستخدمةتكنولوجيا شامل ل اكتشاف الحصول على أجل

IPROM.

iv

APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to

acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality,

as a thesis for the degree of Master of Education.

...................................................

Sharifah Sariah Bt Syed Hassan

Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable

standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis

for the degree of Master of Education.

......................................................

Nik Suryani Bt Nik Abd Rahman

Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Institute of Education and is accepted as a partial

fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education.

..................................................

Siti Rafiah Bt. Abd. Hamid

Director, Institute of Education

v

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where

otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted

as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Hasmawati Binti Ismail

Signature …………………………………… Date ……………………..

vi

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION

OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

Copyright © 2000 by Hasmawati Binti Ismail. All rights reserved.

THE UNIKL IPROM ENGLISH INSTRUCTORS COMPETENCY IN USING

ICT: IMPLICATION TOWARD STUDENT LEARNING AWARENESS

I hereby affirm that The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) hold all rights

in the copyright of this Work and henceforth any reproduction or use in any form or by

means whatsoever is prohibited without written consent of IIUM. No part of this

unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise

without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Affirmed by Hasmawati Binti Ismail.

………………………. …………………

Signature Date

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent and The Most Merciful.

Firstly, I would like to express the utmost gratitude to Allah who has given me the

strength, inspiration, ideas and ease to complete this dissertation.

Secondly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Sharifah Sariah Syed Hassan

for the continuous guidance and advice in completing this endeavour.

Thirdly, I would like to thank all family members, friends, colleagues and

everyone who has been very supportive and encouraging in ‘forcing’ me to really

complete this dissertation.

Thank you, Inya’allah, you will never be forgotten.

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Summary of Elements/Activities of Student-centred Learning

Dimensions....................................................................................................27

Table 4.1

Breakdown of Sample Based on Gender and Age……………………..…..62

Table 4.2

Breakdown Sample Based on Gender against Qualification and

Programme………………………………………………………….............62

Table 4.3

Cronbach’s Alpha Value (Reliability Test)………………………………...64

Table 4.4

English lecturers’ Student-Centred Learning Approach…………….......…66

Table 4.5

Student-Centred Learning Dimension Analysis……………………..…......67

Table 4.6

English Subjects Computer Technology Satisfaction………………….......69

Table 4.7

Post-hoc Analysis between Programmes and Computer Technology

Satisfaction…………………………………………………….........….…..73

Table 4.8

English Lecturers Computer Technology Competency……….….........…..76

Table 4.9

Independent T-test English Lecturers’ Computer Competency

Level across Programmes (Business and Engineering)………..………......78

Table 4.10

Correlation between Computer Technology Used and Competency.……..79

Table 4.11

Means Differences between Male and Female Students on Computer

Technology Satisfaction and Lecturers’ Computer Technology

Competency………………………………………..….................................80

Table 4.12

Independent Samples Test: Gender against Computer Technology

Satisfaction and competency…………………………………….……..…..81

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.0 Relationship of Teaching Strategies, Types of Computer Technology

Used, Computer Technology Competency and Learning Awareness……..15

Figure 4.1

Computer Technology Satisfaction………………………………..……....71

Figure 4.2

Computer Technology Competencies……………………………...………77

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………….……. ii

Arabic Abstract …………………………………………………………………………. iii

Approval page ...……….………………………………………………………………... iv

Declaration page .....................................................................................................….........v

Copyright page ……...………………………………………………………………..…..vi

Acknowledgements ...……….………………………………………………….………..vii

List of Tables ...……………………………………………………….……………...... viii

List of Figures ...….……………………………………………………………………... ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1

Background of Study ............................................................................................... 1

Universiti Kuala Lumpur – Institute of Product Design and Manufacturing

(UniKL IPROM) ............................................................................................... 4

English Language Teaching and Learning ........................................................ 7

English Language Courses Offered at UniKL IPROM .................................... 8

Computer Technology and Pedagogical Approach in Learning ....................... 9

Problem Statement .............................................................................................. ...10

Research Purpose ................................................................................................... 13

Research Objective ................................................................................................ 13

Research Question ................................................................................................. 14

Scope of Study ....................................................................................................... 14

Significance of Study ............................................................................................. 15

Limitations of Study .............................................................................................. 16

Operational Definitions ......................................................................................... 17

Student-Centred Approach ………………………………………..……….. 17

Technology ...................................................................................................... 17

Types of Computer Technology ..................................................................... 18

Computer Technology Application ................................................................. 18

Computer Technology Competency ............................................................... 18

Metacognition / Metacognitive Awareness ..................................................... 18

Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 19

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………..............…………20

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 20

Learning Theories ........................................................................................... 20

xi

Instructional Technology and Theory ............................................................. 24

Student-Centred Learning Approach ..................................................................... 25

Authentic Learning ......................................................................................... 29

Autonomous Learning ..................................................................................... 31

Group Work .................................................................................................... 32

Assessment ...................................................................................................... 33

Student-Centred Learning in Islamic Perspectives ......................................... 34

Computer Technology ........................................................................................... 36

Student-Centred Learning and Computer Technology ................................... 39

Student Learning Satisfaction ................................................................................ 42

Computer Technology Competency ...................................................................... 43

Learning Awareness .............................................................................................. 46

Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 49

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 50

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 50

Research Design .................................................................................................... 50

Research sample .............................................................................................. 51

Sampling Procedure ........................................................................................ 51

Instrument .............................................................................................................. 52

Face Validity ................................................................................................... 55

Construct Validity ........................................................................................... 55

Data Collection Procedure ..................................................................................... 56

Data Analysis Procedure ....................................................................................... 56

Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 58

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS .............................................................................................. 59

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 59

Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................. 61

Data Screening ................................................................................................ 61

RQ1: Do UniKL IPROM English lecturers foster student-centred learning in

their instruction using computer technology? ................................................. 65

RQ 2: Are UniKL IPROM students satisfied with the various computer

technologies used in the English courses?........................................................68

RQ 3: Do UNIKL IPROM students perceive their English lecturers competent

in using computer technology in their lessons? ………………......................74

RQ 4: Is there any relationship between English lecturers’ computer

technology competency and students’ satisfaction with regard to gender in the

use of computer technologies? .........................................................................78

Conclusion ..…………………………………………………………….…….……..82

xii

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………. 84

Summary ….…………………………………………………………………….….. 84

Fostering student-centred learning in instruction using computer

technology…………………………………………………………………...87

Student satisfaction with the use of various types of computer technology...89

Lecturers’ competency in using computer technology in instruction…….…90

Relationship between lecturers’ computer technology competency and student

satisfaction with regards to gender in the use of computer technologies…....91

Conclusion ………..……………………………………………..…………….….... 92

Recommendations ………….……………………………………………..……...94

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………...…...97

APPENDIX I: Questionnaire ……………………...……………………….……….….108

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Education field is one of the fields that receive constant improvement throughout the

years. In effect, the way teaching and learning takes place today has changed

tremendously. In the past, teachers were considered to be the most knowledgeable

individuals who took classroom as their centre stage. They were the ones expected to

provide knowledge to the students and responsible for learning to transpire.

However, there has been a massive transition in education today that student-centred

learning has become more acceptable in educational institutions especially in higher

learning institutions.

Student-centred learning environment demands students to be actively

involved in their learning process. They are the ones to determine their learning

direction and to engage in various tasks such as problem solving, project, research

and many other activities in their journey to acquire knowledge and skills. Teachers

facilitate their students to learn instead of playing the role as experts in presenting the

information that students need to learn. Thus, the students need to rationalise and

ascertain their learning directions to accomplish their learning goals.

In addition, cognitivists point out that students are not empty vessels as they

also bring in their previous knowledge and experiences into the classroom that are

related to their current learning (Piaget, 1960; Bruner, 1990). The students already

have certain mental model gathered from personal encounters and observations and

through the continuous learning process (formal and informal). These result a better

2

understanding of the subject matter. Hence, teachers should be able to help the

students to associate their existing knowledge and current endeavour in ensuring

successful acquisition of knowledge and skills.

With the advancement of computer technology, most educators today are

relying on technology to support teaching and learning process. It has become an

acceptable demand that projected media should be utilised in the presentation of

information. Why there is a need to use the projected media? One of the reasons is

that they provide exceptional performance in supporting instruction, teaching, giving

motivation and influencing attitudes (Kemp and Smellie, 1994). Furthermore,

teachers may be less relying on the traditional method (chalk and board) because the

information age has demanded teachers to be more advanced than the students.

Besides that, students may not absolutely rely on their teachers for

information and learning content anymore because various media resources are

available that students can voluntarily search by themselves. Thus, teachers are

challenged by the students’ ability to understand difficult concepts from “different

rubrics of knowledge” (Noriah, Siti Rahayah, Rosseni, & Aidah, 2007).

Nevertheless, in accomplishing educational institutions’ goal and mission, teachers

still need to guide students to be up-dated with their course requirement. Therefore,

teachers must be able to employ various media to adapt their teaching for learning to

occur, besides cultivating student motivation to learn.

According to Jonassen, Hernandez-Serrano and Choi (2000) “technologies

have been conceived as machines that are used as conveyors of knowledge.

Instructional designers encoded knowledge and intelligence into machine and used

the machine to mediate the conveyance of knowledge from the teachers to the

students…” (p. 113). Hence, technologies may alter the way educators deal with their

3

instruction; simultaneously, change the way they manage classroom activities. This

is to say that by using technologies, it could either alleviate or impede learning

processes because classroom activities need to be properly and effectively designed in

order to bring out positive implications.

It also has become an acceptable view and supported by many studies that

using computer technology in instruction would be more effective with student-

centred learning. Various computer technologies enable students to discover and

construct concepts that are unique to their individual cognitive development. The

construction of concepts in learning can be achieved through students’ active role in

various mental activities such as “self enquiry and information seeking and retrieval,

as well as decision making” during the learning process (Hannafin and Land, 1997, p.

169) which is eased by the availability of computer technology.

On the other hand, student-centred learning may not be successfully

accomplished if students are not aware of their roles as learners. Students need to

possess an “active control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning”

(Livingston, 1997, p. 1) which in educational psychology is termed as metacognition.

Metacognition is developed by being actively involved in planning on how to

approach a certain learning task, checking understanding of learning input, and

assessing the progress in completing the task (Livingston, 1997). In relation to

language learning, Ellis (1999) defines it as “knowing about oneself as a learner, in

other words, the knowledge and self-awareness a learner has of his own language

learning process, and is regarded as to be successful language learning (p.4)”. In

short, the essence of student-centred learning may not be materialised if students do

not have the awareness in their learning activities and learning process.

4

According to Flavell, (cited in Livingston, 1997) there are three categories of

metacognitive knowledge; knowledge of person variables, task variables, and strategy

variables. When students possess the awareness of their own learning process they

are capable of controlling their learning activities in terms of the nature of tasks, types

of processing demands, and strategies to be used to accomplish the tasks. Student-

centred learning environment enable the students to optimise the awareness as they

have to manipulate various strategies to perform their learning tasks; that enables

them to advance their knowledge construction.

In short, there are various aspects that need to be considered in achieving the

ultimate representation of the teaching and learning process. In this present research,

it just features the extent of student-centred learning practised by lecturers of English

courses, the students’ satisfaction on the use of computer technology applications and

the lecturers’ competency level in using computer technology that exemplify

students’ learning awareness.

Universiti Kuala Lumpur – Institute of Product Design and Manufacturing

(UniKL IPROM)

Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) is a thriving university to become the premier

technical university in the country. The aim is to produce technologists who are able

to serve not only local but also global industries. To achieve this aim, UniKL

employs a large number of human resources from various industries serving as

academicians who are mostly highly experienced and immensely knowledgeable.

However, majority are still new in education field: they are experts in industries but a

novice in “teaching industry”. Looking at this perspective, the lecturers are still

5

required to explore various instructional approaches in order to cater to students’

learning needs.

On the other hand, students of UniKL are mostly students of technical and

vocational oriented because most of them come from different backgrounds of

technical/vocational institutions. These students are future technologists in their field

and they work best kinaesthetically. In fact, the university is chosen for the fact that

it offers 60% hands-on and 40% theory for diploma level and 50% - 50% for degree

level. Understanding this circumstance, it can be safely said that the students are not

inclined to learning theories like any other public university students. They are

highly skilled in creating products but inept in adopting theories and scientific

concepts of developing products. In other words, the students are technically oriented

with the knowledge of practice or application rather than knowledge for

understanding or reasoning.

UniKL IPROM students cannot be categorised 100% under engineering

students. The students’ nature is having kinaesthetic and visual intelligence, and they

are categorised as technologists instead of engineers. Having this learning style, the

students require a lot of usage of their five senses. They learn better by doing rather

than watching and listening as they have adopted physical and motor skills. They are

keen to perform rather than “premeditating or thinking” about doing a particular

activity in advance. Technical students require a lot of visual materials such as flow

charts, maps and pictures to grasp concepts quickly (Nakate, 2010). Thus, student-

centred learning approach may be the most appropriate approach for the students to

master their learning as the approach requires active participation from the students

themselves in the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

6

At UniKL educational setting, therefore, instructors have to understand the

students’ learning styles, that is, understand how the students are different from other

traditional universities students. Felder and Silverman (1988) advocate that there is a

clash between students and lecturers in terms of the way they perceive information as

most lecturers are not kinaesthetic learners. Lecturers tend to believe that the way

students grasp information is similar to the way they grasp the information. Hence,

their teaching method mostly caters to their (the lecturers) abilities to perceive the

information. Besides their teaching methods, the activities and media that are used

should also be governed by the types of learners to make learning, especially theories

and concepts, uncomplicated and effortless (Felder & Silverman, 1988). To meet the

students’ learning demand, therefore, instructors need to accommodate the students

with materials, devices and approaches that allow students to “do” instead of “see”

and “listen” only.

In supporting the teaching and learning process, UniKL has provided various

types of computer technology equipment. At UniKL Institute of Product Design and

Manufacturing (UniKL IPROM) exclusively, the equipment to support teaching and

learning process is hugely invested especially on LCD projectors and software since

the demand for the use of computer technology in instruction is very high. Almost

every classroom is equipped with an LCD projector; it enables instructors to use

computer and apply various media that can cater to the students’ learning needs.

English Language Teaching and Learning

Approaches and strategies in teaching and learning English language evolve as a

result of different theories purported by scholars in the field. For instance, grammar-

translation method and audio-lingual method appeared as a result of the

7

understanding of the memory and cognitive strategies which are based on the

structuralists’ view of language acquisition and behaviourists’ view of learning.

Inter-language theory developed the idea of learning from errors and this entails

cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and communicative language teaching was

developed with the idea that language acquisition can be accomplished by ‘being in

the natural environment’. All these theories, approaches and methods surfaced as a

result of attempting to enhance the success of language teaching and learning

(Griffiths and Parr, 2001).

In terms of English language teaching and learning, countless studies have

been conducted to investigate the various methods and approaches for effective

language teaching and learning. Hence, terms such as communicative language

teaching, language learning strategies and language-learning and teaching theories

arise as a consequence to the development of language teaching and learning

particularly English language. In addition to language teaching and learning theories,

the different sects of English language were also conceptualised for example English

for Specific Purposes, English for Academic Purposes, English for Work Purposes,

and other branches of English language learning that require unique approaches.

These different sects of English demand different strategies and methods for the

learners to succeed. However, approaches and methods are based on two major

disciplines; teacher-centred instruction and student-centred instruction.

English Language Courses Offered at UniKL IPROM

English language courses offered at UniKL IPROM comprise Technical

Communication (WEB 10102), Professional Communication 1 (WEB 10201), and

Professional Communication 2 (WEB 10202). These are compulsory courses for

8

students to take. Technical Communication course deals mainly with grammar,

reading and writing skills. Professional Communication 1 concerns with writing

business correspondence which includes letter writing, memorandum writing, and

emails. In addition to that, Professional Communication 1 also touches on meeting

procedures and presentation skills. Professional Communication 2, however,

concentrates on industrial visits and interview techniques, and technical report writing

skills. The focus of English courses at UniKL IPROM is mainly English for Specific

Purposes.

At UniKL IPROM, there are four (4) female English lecturers who teach full

time and one (1) lecturer teaches part time, but the number of part-time lecturers

increases depending on the students’ registration. Each full-time lecturer teaches a

maximum of 18 hours per week and the part-time lecturer teaches maximum of six

hours. Each lecturer teaches various English courses offered and every semester, she

may be teaching more than two courses, and the number of students handled by the

lecturer could reach 200 to 250 per semester. To accommodate different topics of the

courses and also different student background, therefore, they have to vary their

teaching approaches. Centralised trainings are provided for English lecturers

throughout UniKL campuses during semester break, but the trainings were mostly

related to content and pedagogical applications. Trainings related to technology and

language learning is very limited and the use of technology in instruction depends on

the individual lecturer’s initiative.

Computer Technology and Pedagogical Approach in Learning

Teaching and learning involve the instructors’ decision in manoeuvring their class

directions. Instructors may use teacher-centred approach or student-centred approach

9

as their teaching strategies which are based on their beliefs in the teaching and

learning process. Nevertheless, instructors must also be aware of the practices and

strategies that help the teaching and learning goals to be accomplished in the most

effective manner, based on researches conducted by scholars in the discipline.

On the other hand, since technology has played a vital role in the education

industry, it is of great importance for the instructors to be able to use technology in

making teaching and learning process more accessible especially in using computer

technology. According to Jonassen, Hernandez-Serrano and Choi (2000), learning

technologies are tools for mediating the practice of learning. They can be great

assistance in the representation of information to achieve better understanding in

learning. Furthermore, learning technologies can be used to accomplish beyond the

lower order thinking if they are properly used. Zhang (2010) emphasised that

computer technology is supposed to bring change to learning culture, but

unfortunately, it has been adapted to the traditional way of learning. This suggests

that new technology does not necessarily improve teaching and learning practice;

technology on its own cannot affect learning unless it is accompanied with effective

instructional strategies.

Researches have proven that student-centred learning enables students to take

their learning to a higher level of thinking order as it encourages learners to think

critically, get motivated and solve problems (Ingleton, Kiley, Cannon, & Rogers,

2000). Similarly, Achtenhagen (2000) pointed out that advanced computer

technology is helpful in supporting effective teaching and learning especially when it

involves complicated teaching and learning situation. Consequently, by marrying

both factors (student-centred learning and computer technology), instructors will be

able to create more rewarding classroom experiences to students instead of a mere

10

show and tell lessons that proved less effective.

On the contrary, by observing the current practice, the use of computer

technology is mostly very restricted to using PowerPoint or other presentation

software. That means, instructors replace blackboard or whiteboard with computer to

project texts that are related to the learning contents. Although the approach might

provide some positive impact, it does not really cultivate better learners. Integrating

computer technology will not promote effective learning either, if lecturers are

teaching using the same traditional way. Thus, little has changed although computer

technology can be exploited beyond the traditional teaching approach, which could

result better learning attainment.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Computer technology has made teaching and learning more accessible especially with

the advent of internet and other technologically enhanced learning tools; students and

teachers are accommodated by wide availability of information and advanced

learning support. Thus, it is a common scenario in higher learning institutions that

lecturers or instructors use computer in their lesson as either an advanced visual aids

or other teaching and learning purposes.

Ideally, having computer technology used in instructions or lessons, teachers

or lecturers need to consider employing student-centred learning approach because

researches have discovered that computer technology is most effective with the

integration of student-centred learning approach (Colburn, 2000; Woodbridge, 2004;

Moeller & Reitzes, 2011). In fact, computer technology enables students to construct

their knowledge and skills in the easiest manner with the support of the internet and

latest computer technology applications. As yet to be revealed is the extent of the

11

instructional strategies practised by the educators and this research seeks to determine

the application of student-centred learning using computer technology in instruction,

student satisfaction in the use of various computer technologies and English lecturers’

computer technology competency.

Since using computer technology in instructions is still a discreet practice in

terms of its application, some mainly use computer technology to deliver the course

or subject content which approach is traditional; teacher-centred approach where

instructors or lecturers use the computer to present the information to the students

which use is a mere visual aid. As a result, there have been a lot of discussions that

computer technology may not serve as a tool for effective learning when teachers or

instructors control their role as information provider instead of students actively

involve in constructing their knowledge in the learning process. Hence, the study

would be able to reveal the real practice of English lecturers at UniKL IPROM in

terms their instructional approach in using computer technology.

A general observation among instructors or lecturers at UniKl IPROM is that,

the students pay poor attention to lecturers in classroom and they perform poorly in

attendance. For each semester there would be a list of students who will not be

allowed for final examinations sitting because their presence in class did not fulfil the

80% requirement of class attendance. This situation could be due to many factors but

one of them might be lack of interest in their lessons as lecturers play the traditional

role in imparting knowledge, although technology is employed to enhance the

effectiveness of their lessons.

In order to provide effective learning environment, lecturers or instructors

must possess a comprehensive understanding of learning theories and appropriate

level of competency in handling instructional technology so that they are able to meet

12

the learning objectives and the demands of the learners’ learning styles. It has

become a general understanding that most UniKL IPROM students are mainly

kinaesthetic or tactile learners. They excel in doing things rather than sitting in class,

watching and listening to lectures and tutorials and trying to absorb the contents given

by instructors. Thus, the different usage of projected media is necessary in order to

sustain student interest in learning. This research reveals the usage of computer

technology in teaching and learning at the institute.

In determining the contributing factors to the issue, it is also important to

observe the level of student satisfaction in terms of the use of computer technology in

the classroom. This observation would indicate if other factors might cause the

students poor participation in class or unsatisfying class attendance. Furthermore,

there are limited insights pertaining to UniKl English language lecturers’ current

practice on the types of computer technology used in their lessons. The lecturers

need to know their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their computer technology

use in their instructions so that the technologies can be used effectively. Hence,

feedbacks from the students with regard to their practice are crucial in order to

improve the existing practices in yielding better teaching and learning experience.

This is indicated based on a study conducted by Bloom and Hough (2003), they found

that one of the main factors influencing student satisfaction in the use of technology is

the expertise of the faculty.

RESEARCH PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to investigate students-centred learning approach

employed in the classroom, students’ satisfaction level in the use of different

computer technology applications and lecturers’ competency in using computer