Science Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the use of interactive whiteboards in education

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the beliefs and attitudes of 36 science teachers (biology, physics and chemistry) in six high schools in Ankara towards the use of Interactive White Boards (IWB). Of these, three teachers from each school were chosen for interview and classroom observations according to their questionnaire results with purposeful sampling method. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics and qualitative data analysis methods. According to the results, teachers agree that using IWBs facilitate reaching different sources and display them to the whole class immediately. Teachers describe the common use of IWBs as showing visual materials, videos and animations in science classes. The majority of teachers enjoy using the IWB technology and express positive feelings about it. Most teachers state that they follow the advances in educational technology regularly. Since the frequencies are approximately equal, no meaningful difference was found between teachers with different majors on staying current with technology. The findings show that biology and chemistry teachers use IWB more frequently than physics teachers. Although the teachers have positive attitudes towards the use of IWBs, it was seen that most of them do not feel comfortable while using them in the classrooms. The interviews indicate the reason for that as insufficient in-service trainings.