Perceptions of pre-service primary school teachers regarding the application of Interactive educational Software in classroom teaching

Abstract

he Interactive Educational Software in Classroom Teaching (IESCT) represents computer programs used for the independent design of educational content that is to be acquired. The starting point of this research was the general assumption that IESCTs significantly contribute to the effectiveness of classroom teaching and the learning and participation of students in classes. The starting points were also the specific assumptions that the research would identify the components that indicate the most common contributions of IESCTs and that it would establish a significant difference in the estimates of the pre-service teachers regarding the contribution of the IESCTs relative to their academic achievement. To establish this, the research presented in this paper was conducted in the second half of 2019 on a sample of 83 pre-service primary school teachers at the Faculty of Education in Prizren (Republic of Serbia). The data were generated by the IESCT Scale (a = .912). The factor analysis identified two components that indicate the contribution of the IESCT: 1) the efficiency of teaching and 2) individuality in learning. The analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference in the estimates of the four groups of students, grouped according to their academic achievement. Based on the critical comparative analysis presented in the paper and the results of the empirical research, a proposal was given for introducing innovative approaches to classroom teaching in schools in the Republic of Serbia and for its implementation in accordance with innovative didactic and methodological models that include the use of interactive educational software in teaching.