The relationship between faculty use of IT and their quality of teaching –learning

Appropriate uses of information technology in teaching-learning process can promote the quality of teaching and lead to learning achievements. However, there are various types of information technology used in classrooms which can be included on one spectrum. A side of which consists of power-point and the other side consists of mixed electronic learning systems. Despite this, all mentioned types might not end up in improvement of learning and teaching quality. Therefore, the question is that whether the use of information technology leads to promotion of quality of teaching and learning in a certain condition. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the amount of information technology used by faculty members and their quality of teaching in Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Faculty of Social Sciences in University of Tehran. Co relational method as a type of descriptive-analytical research was used as research method. A total of 30 faculty members from University of Tehran’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Faculty of Social Sciences participated in this study. For selecting the study sample stratified sampling method with sufficient sample size was utilized. Required data was gathered through two questionnaires: i) The Use of Information Technology Scale, and ii) The Quality of Teaching Scale. Then, the data was analyzed using Spearman’s correlation method. The reliabilities of these scales through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were .87 for The Use of Information Technology Scale, and .90 for The Quality of Teaching Scale. Also, adequate content validities of both scales have been reported by several studies. The results demonstrated that: i) the faculty members of Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and the faculty members of Faculty of Social Sciences adequately applied information technology in teaching-learning process, and they could be rate in optimum level concerning to quality of teaching ii) There is a significant positive relationship between the amount of information technology used by faculty members and their quality of teaching. On the basis of the results of the current study following suggestions were proposed: 1) facilitating educational conditions for faculty members about information and communications technology in order to inform them of modern and up-to-date technologies, 2) holding workshops about teaching methods, and 3) inviting successful faculty members in teaching to present their effective experiences.