Pedagogy through technology: investigating different technology approaches to the pedagogic environment of undergraduate education

The ever-increasing impact of technology upon all aspects of society has in turn led to the emergence of a student population for whom technology is no longer a peripheral to their education but is a core aspect of their education experiences. Against this background this thesis sets out to consider the potential for technology to support the learning experiences of students during exposure to a specific subject discipline within a higher education setting. Throughout the investigation it was identified that whilst the impact of technology on achievement within mathematics-based subjects had been considered within compulsory education the literature itself lacked any significant critique of the impact of technology within a comparable Higher Educational environment. iii The intention of this research is to investigate and evaluate the impact made by the adoption of a range of technology approaches on both the learning experiences and achievement during assessment of students undertaking a Business Statistics module as part of their first-year undergraduate studies. The study itself is conducted through a research methodology based primarily upon positivism and therefore seeks to propose a number of hypotheses which are tested through a critical analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The investigation provided the opportunity to review longitudinal data to establish the historical profile of student achievement within the subject area as well as to capture data from different student cohorts during the course of the investigative study. Data gathered identified that a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors relating to the choice of technology and their adoption were influential in supporting the learning environment. This led to investigation and evaluation of the adaptation of Kolb’s experiential learning pedagogy through the preferable choice of technology that effectively support students learning. The adapted models illustrated the stages of development experienced by students from the first exposure of new learning to the application of subject knowledge through acquired skills. The analysis of data refined through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method as a means of determining influential and causal relationships between a number of learning stages within the model. The obtained data and analysis further refined to recognise the roles of Repetition and Reinforcement as significantly influential in the development of competence within the students. As a consequence, the emergence of a newly proposed model entitled the “Lewis Dynamic Model” emphasises the significance of both repetition and reinforcement as fundamental to the support of student development as reflected by positive increases in the level of achievement attained by students under formal examination conditions. Although technology and its application are primarily focused upon the achievement of the student, the creation and inclusion of technology is, however, very much as a consequence of the technology competence of the subject tutor. To explore this aspect of the learning relationship data was gathered from groups of academics, all of whom are responsible for delivering subject areas in which numerical competence is required. Data analysis identified that whilst many academic tutors engage in the use of technology this is often at a basic level. In response to this data the author has created an “academic toolkit” which in conjunction with a short training programme has supported tutors in their inclusion of learning technology across a range of subjects.