Problem based learning application to teach IT skills to prospective teachers in a faculty of education

Abstract

To be able to go in parallel with the development of IT we must apply it first to the educational community. The important players of two sites of this community - teachers and learners - must be equipped with IT literacy as soon as possible; especially students at Colleges of Education are more important than others because today's students are educators of the future. As the use of IT receives wider acceptance in education, computer anxiety remains to be challenging concern. Beyond any doubt, teachers need to have necessary training and support to properly integrate computers into their practices: The attitudes of teachers can be influenced and changed positively during their training. Therefore, new teaching and learning environments (such as Rich Environments for Active Learning-REALs) that increase students activity in educational process and reduce computer anxiety even during their training in the universities should be designed and this would help them integrate new technology into their profession. At the government schools and universities in Turkey, technological facilities and manpower are not enough to create flexible environments for active learning. So, if we can motivate students to learn through Problem Based Learning (PBL) method, it will be easier to create a REAL and to promote from conventional learning to active learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is considered to be one of the best examples of a constructivist learning environment. PBL has been among the curricular innovations most discussed in higher education over the last 30 years. This paper presents a case study of application of PBL method in order to create a REAL in a basic IT course given to second grade students at the Faculty of Education in Istanbul University.