A recent study confirms: Teaching by computer doesn't
necessarily improve student achievement. Perhaps the opposite
is true.
The marks of students who are regularly aided by computers in
their studies are generally below 80, while those who don't
resort to computer assisted instruction often receive higher
grades. These discrepancies were discovered in mathematics
and in the study of the Hebrew language.
Professor Victor Lavi, head of the Economics Department of
the Hebrew University and Professor Yehoshua Engrist from the
Economics Department of MIT in Boston note that their study
included 10,000 fourth grade students' tests on mathematics
and the Hebrew language in 1996. The average grade among
students studying with the aid of the computer was a "D" as
opposed to an average of "C" obtained by those who used the
computer only infrequently.
Researchers surmise that the differences may stem from
additional factors, such as insufficient training of teachers
who direct the use of the computers as well as the tendency
to delegate computerized teaching to inexperienced
teachers.
A comparable study conducted at the end of 1999 in New Jersey
yielded similar results. In its wake, educators claimed that
computer use impairs a student's creative ability. Much
importance has been attached to the current study findings
because so many resources have been invested in school
computer programs.
