Instructional Practices versus Application of Active Learning Methods and Instructional Technology in Hawassa College of Teacher Education

Abstract

Education is a tool for bringing about some kind of social, economic, political, and technological changes. The attention given to the effective delivery of education today is more impressive than ever before. As much as education contributes for the advancement of technology, technology also plays a decisive role for the improvement of educational practices by changing the mode of delivery of instructions and changing the roles of teachers and students. As a result, this research was conducted on active learning and integration of educational technology in the instructional practices of Hawassa College of Teacher Education. The main objective of the research was to explore the extent to which the educational practices of Hawassa College of Teacher Education comply with modern educational practices, perspectives and technologies. For this purpose, both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were employed. Students, instructors, the vice dean (Educational Material Supply, Dissemination, and Technology Integration Core Processor(EMSDTICP)) of the college, Information Technology (IT) coordinator, and GEQIP and IQPEP linkage coordinator of the college and SNNPRS Education Bureau TDP coordinator provided the data for research. The techniques for data collection included classroom teaching-learning process observation, questionnaire and interview. The findings indicated that the system and actual practices of the College predominantly remain traditional. The teaching-learning system was rarely supported by modern educational technologies; and the roles of teachers and students showed the prevalence of the traditional instructional practices (teacher-centered instruction).