Hyun-Myoung Kim* and Young-Soo Kim** Dept. of Biology Education, Seoul National University, Korea Application of Internet Services to Promote Interactions between the Instructor and the Students in the Course of an Introduction to Biology Education

1) Problem of limited interactions between the teacher and the students and among students in the classroom -Much literature reported that using internet in education could improve interactions 2) Lack of teachers with IT literacy and training program for preparing these teachers at 1997 in Korea -the importance of equipping teachers with IT literacy Research background

To examine the effectiveness and the practicability of the course using internet to promote the interactions between the instructor and the students and among students. For this purpose, the course using internet was implemented to the pre-service biology teachers at college of education. Purpose

1. What effects did the course using internet have on the interaction between the instructor and the students? 2. What effects did the following four types of teaching method using internet services differently have on the interaction among students? 1) Organized issue-oriented group discussion 2) Exercise for advanced-learning 3) Synchronous group discussion for high-level problem-solving 4) Free group discussion for collaborative learning Research Question

1. Course of an Introduction to Biology Education a major required subject for juniors understanding biology education for preparing secondary biology teachers for this study, the course was organized to use internet for assignments the course was run over the spring semester of Subjects 29 students (pre-service biology teachers) who enrolled in this course (male 12, female 17). the most students participating in this course were beginners of internet uses, except for only 4 students (had PC with modem at home) Methods

3. Methods to examine the effects of the course using internet on the interactions 1) Interactions between the instructor and the students -by analyzing the contents and pattern of the messages through , mailing-list, BBS 2) Interactions among students -by analyzing the contents and patterns of the messages on web-forum and chatting 3) Questionnaire survey to find the benefits and limitations of the course 4. Construction the environments using internet

Web-forum

By Contents of messages Result (1) - Interactions between the instructor and the students through , mailing list and BBS

By Writer of messages

Opinions of four students (actively communicated) 1) They could have good relationship with the instructor and TA through and mailing-list 2) Learning internet was very useful and interesting.

% % % By Response patterns

Instructor’s roles in each teaching methods Operator and helper Organized issue-oriented discussion Exercise for advanced-learning Synchronous group discussion for high-level problem-solving Free group discussion for collaborative learning Feedback provider Moderator Adviser

1. Four types of teaching method 1) Organized issue-oriented group discussion 2) Exercise for advanced-learning 3) Synchronous group discussion for high-level problem- solving 4) Free group discussion for collaborative learning 2. Students' perception of benefits and limitations about each teaching method Result (2) - Effects of interactions among students according to different types of teaching method

1. Organized issue-oriented group discussion 1) Objective To understand the goal of science education 2) Method Students were divided into two group(support group and opposition), and discussed ‘why should science be taught in secondary school’. Members in a group discussed by face- to face, and posted agreed opinion on web-forum. After the other group read posted opinion, discussed contrary views. Finally, all members submitted the conclusion through FTP. 3) Result Students learned how to use the web-forum, and could asynchronous discussion through web-forum.

Organized Discussion Procedure Virtual public hearing (2 times) group 1 (position of the Education Ministry)- support group 2 (position of a science teacher)- opposition face-to-face discussion in a groupposting agreed opinion on web-forum group 1-explanation group 2-reputation group 1 & group 2-conclusion Issue- why should science be taught in secondary school? submit through FTP

Hitting Number of Virtual public hearing 1st & 2nd At the beginning, students had spent more time to learn how to use web-forum

Student’s perception of benefits and limitations in organized issue-oriented discussion

2. Exercise for advanced-learning 1) Objective to describe the statements suitable for the given science education objective on web-forum (total 10 topic) 2) Method Each students posted their own statements on web-forum for assignments 3) Result Students referred to posted statements of other students and feedback from instructor and TA

2nd Topic: Is this objective clearly described? Sub-topic

Instructor’s Feedback on web-forum

Student’s perceptions of benefits and limitations in exercise for advanced learning

3. Synchronous group discussion for high-level problem-solving 1) Objective to analyze ‘what stage of Piajet's cognitive development would be required by the given science teaching material’ 2) Method Group members could discuss this through chatting at real time (3 members in a group) 3) Results This method enabled the students to implement collaborative project and encourage group interaction

Student’s perception of benefits and limitations in synchronous group discussion for problem solving

4. Free group discussion for collaborative learning 1) Objective to design the course that 'the learning cycle by R. Karplus' was applied to 2) Method Students in a group(3 members) discussed in students’ own way without any organization 3) Results Students didn't discuss actively as expected. It seemed that the dead line was not given to complete it and students were very busy preparing for other final exams

The posting order of group members -interactions among students in a group a: 1st poster b: 2nd poster c: 3rd poster TA: teaching assistant

Student’s perception of benefits and limitations in free group discussion for collaborative learning

It made the course run more effectively It helped the students form personal intimacy with the instructor The instructor played roles as a guide, an adviser, and a system operator in the discussions on internet The instructor's feedback was helpful for learning Conclusion (1)- interactions between the instructor and the students

Group learning using internet enabled the students to do a high level of critical thinking, a problem solving, and a cooperative learning Through synchronous and asynchronous discussions without limits of time and space, the students could approach the problems more freely and come to their decisions easily Asynchronous discussion through web forum was more suitable for the lessons requiring critical thinking In contrast, synchronous discussion through chatting, like face-to-face discussion, was suitable for immediate problem- solving. Conclusion (2)- interactions among students

Conclusion (3)- limitation and future prospect The lack of usable networked computers and the massive consumption of instructor's and students' time and efforts were the major obstacles to the successful use of internet services in education. Nevertheless, if the course were designed to apply suitable internet services, the using internet for improving interactions would be a successful tool.

1. It was essential to prepare the usable computer hardware and software 2. To promote students' active participation, the forcible factor that obliges students to participate in, for example, assignments, was necessary 3. In this study, internet was used for assignments in a lecture- centered course. So, these results could be applied to a similar situation 4. How to organize internet services appropriately in accordance to the course objectives was important to enhance the effectiveness of the course Suggestions

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