Learning Effectiveness and Contribution of an Instructor in Learning with Technological Methods

This study addresses the effectiveness of learning via educational software. The study focuses on instruction provided as part of the training of technicians and examines the effectiveness of instruction provided via educational software in terms of learning outcomes via Bloom’s revised taxonomy, Te’eni’s affective-cognitive model of organizational communication, and the STEM model. We divided learners randomly into three groups who studied the same topic: one group studied with the educational software only, the second with the educational software together with an instructor, and the third with an instructor who used a presentation. The learners took a test and four months later they took another test to examine the effectiveness of the instruction over time. The research results show that recall levels and performance levels on the tests were almost identical in all groups, but in the categories of understanding and applying the study material the addition of an instructor strongly contributed to achievements: Those who received instruction via educational software achieved the best results in the category of understanding, while those who studied with an instructor who used a presentation achieved the best results with regard to application of the material studied. The findings of this study can highlight the effectiveness of using educational software in learning processes in all educational systems.