The dynamics of incorporating electronic media in the undergraduate curriculum: A case study of teaching with appropriate technology in innovative general education.

摘要

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of general education studies at Michigan State University in order to determine the factors that influenced it, the problems that were encountered during the development, and the lessons that can be derived from it by the University of Zimbabwe.;To this end, I did a case study of the evolvement of the general education program at Michigan State University, with emphasis on the developments between 1942, when the program was formally established, and 1988 when centers for integrative general education studies were established. The introduction of the media-based course, IAH 201, in 1988 became the central point of my study because it highlighted the significance of electronic media in the undergraduate classroom. The development was also unprecedented in higher education in the US. It also enabled me to examine how teachers would cope with compulsory media usage in their daily teaching.;Procedure. For the most part I used the qualitative research method, which allowed me to interact directly with people involved in the development of the MSU general education program. To collect data, I used the following research methods: (1) Studying archival materials, which included published books, university policy documents and course syllabuses. (2) Interviewing six staff members who have been involved in all aspects of the general education program. They included past and present general education teachers, administrators and media technicians. (3) Analyzing some materials that have been used in the teaching of the controversial course, IAH 201. These were two video tapes and a compact disk.;Conclusions. I was able to make the following general conclusions from my study: (1) That the undergraduate classroom teacher needs to be empowered and supported to make the right decisions regarding the use of electronic media. (2) That in the process of developing an undergraduate curriculum, academics and administrators need to exercise a high degree of collegiality in order to minimize conflict of interests, which retards progress. (3) That although the University of Zimbabwe can deduce useful lessons from the experience of Michigan State university, it cannot successfully adopt the MSU general education program.;These conclusions suggest to me that further research needs to be made in Zimbabwe to determine which media are most appropriate for the country, what training undergraduate teachers need in order to become proficient media users, and how relevant electronic materials can be obtained.