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As important as it is to realize the potential of computer technology to improve education, it is just as important to understand how the social organization of schools and classrooms influences the use of computers, and in turn is affected by that technology in unanticipated ways. In Computers and Classroom Culture, Janet Schofield observes the fascinating dynamics of the computer-age classroom. Among her many discoveries, Schofield describes how the use of an artificially-intelligent tutor in a geometry class unexpectedly changes aspects such as the level of peer competition and the teacher's grading practices. She also discusses why many teachers fail to make significant instructional use of computers and how gender appears to have a crucial impact on students' reactions to computer use. All educators, sociologists, and psychologists concerned with educational computing and the changing shape of the classroom will find themselves compellingly engaged.
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Computers and Classroom Culture
COMPUTERS AND CLASSROOM CULTURE Janet Ward Schofield University of Pittsburgh
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1995 First published 1995 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data
Schofield, Janet Ward. Computers and classroom culture / Janet Ward Schofield. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-521-47368-3 (hardback) - ISBN 0-521-47924-X (pbk.) 1. Education - Data processing. 2. Computer-assisted instruction. 3. Computer science - Study and teaching. 4. Computers - Social aspects. 5. sex roles I. Title. LB1028.43.S34 1995 371.3'34 - dc20 95-1624 CIP A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-521-47368-3 Hardback ISBN 0-521-47924-X Paperback
To my family with love and hope for the future and to Laurie a friend who has made so much possible
CONTENTS Acknowledgments
page ix
1
Introduction
2
The GPTutor: Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
21
Computer Science 1: The Classroom and the Lab as Contrasting Learning Environments
62
Computers in the Closet: Attitudinal and Organizational Barriers to Computer Use in Classrooms
94
The Computer Room for Gifted Students: A (Bright, White Boys') Lunch Club
134
Girls and Computer Science: Fitting In, Fighting Back, and Fleeing
164
Computers, Classrooms, and Change
190
3
4
5 6 7
1
Appendix
229
References
245
Author Index
263
Subject Index
267
vn
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE PLACEMENT OF THESE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NEAR THE
beginning of this book is appropriate because it symbolizes the important role that others have played in making it possible. Chief among these individuals is Brad Huber, who, over the course of two years while a postdoctoral fellow working with me at the University of Pittsburgh, was a tremendous help in assisting in the design of this research, as well as in very capably conducting hundreds of hours of observation and countless interviews. Also important to this research over several years were Debra EvansRhodes, then a graduate student in social psychology, who played a significant role in gathering observational data, and Van Yasek, a graduate student in anthropology. The care and patience that they demonstrated in working on the analysis of the interview data made a significant contribution to this projec