EVALUATING OPINIONS AND BEHAVIORS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS IN WIKI IN RESPECT TO THEIR LEARNING APPROACHES

Abstract

Although technology is not the only solution for all educational problems, it is a significant and effective instrument in the educational process. Web 2.0 is presently one of the most intensively used technologies; it incorporates additional dynamic features, thereby making the Internet more creative, participatory, and social, and can be 100% user-oriented. Wikis are Web 2.0 tools that enable two-way teacher-student and student-student interaction. This study investigates whether prospective teachers' opinions and behaviors about wiki differ in respect to learning approaches. Learning approaches are evaluated within the scope of individual differences, and incorporate both what students do (strategy) and why they do it (intention) while studying, which can reveal either a 'deep' (striving for meaning and understanding) or a 'surface' (instrumental, reproductive and minimalist) orientation. A descriptive survey methodology was used for the study; descriptive, chi-square and t-test analysis were used to evaluate the data. The Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) was used to determine prospective teachers' learning approaches. The study included 52 prospective teachers. Cronbach alpha values were 0.75 for deep approach and 0.78 for surface approach. A second questionnaire was administered to collect data about prospective teachers' opinions and behaviors in relation to Wiki. For the second questionnaire, Cronbach alpha values were 0.91 for the usefulness of Wiki, and 0.85 for following Wiki regularly. Participants' opinions on the usefulness of Wiki and their behavior of regularly using Wiki did not show statistically significant differences between deep and surface learners.