Evaluation of Preservice Teachers Computer-based Instructional Materials by Special Education Teachers

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the successes and challenges of implementing instructional materials that preservice special education teachers developed for students with disabilities in a rehabilitation center using Web 2.0 tools through an instructional design project as part of a technology integration course. For this project, preservice teachers collaboratively developed instructional materials to meet the needs of the student assigned to their group and implemented them with the student. After the implementation, the success and challenges of the materials were evaluated by 12 special education teachers of the students through structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed using inductive analysis. Analysis results indicated that the vast majority of the materials were found to be successful in terms of the teaching strategies applied within the materials, the appropriateness of the instructional materials, and the opportunities that the materials provided in practice. Most of the teachers claimed that the instructional materials contributed to the students’ learning and skill development even after the one-shot implementation. According to the special education teachers, eight groups experienced no difficulties during the implementation, whilst eight groups faced several challenges due to student-related issues and the infrastructure. They also proposed suggestions to improve the instructional materials and their implementations. The results of this study is valuable as the current literature lacks studies reporting materials’ success from the teachers’ perspective.