A Sustainable Approach: Increasing Students’ Information-Technology Competences and Job-Seeking Capabilities through Course Redesign Using FIT Framework and Active Learning Pedagogy

Tung-Ming Pan,Kuo-Chin Fan

doi:10.3390/su12104094

Tung-Ming Pan, Kuo-Chin Fan

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104094

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Abstract

FIT, Fluency with Information Technology, was developed by the National Research Council, USA in 1999. A FIT individual is defined as someone who can build new knowledge based on his/her prior knowledge, be self-sustaining when changes happen, and find solutions creatively to solve more complicated problems. Using FIT framework and active learning concept to restructure an information technology (IT) course is a sustainable approach to helping students learn, think, and adapt to the constant changes of technology. This article illustrates how FIT framework helped redesign a general education Network Resources and Applications course to enhance students’ IT competences and job-seeking capabilities. It describes (1) the importance of IT education in Taiwan to sustain its high-tech economy, (2) the trend of IT literacy education and active learning presented in literature, (3) how FIT intellectual framework was applied to redesign this course and how active learning strategies were incorporated into teaching, and (4) how pre-test, post-test, and Likert-Scale statistical methodology were used to measure the effectiveness of this new approach. Test results indicated that the new approach did effectively facilitate teaching and increase students’ learning performance, which is consistent with the findings presented in the literature.

Highlights

This study presents an approach to information technology courses that can improve students’ learning outcomes
The approach applies the concept of Fluency with Information Technology (FIT) intellectual framework to construct course content and adopts active learning strategies to deliver the course
Test results prove that this approach is effective and convincing

Summary

Introduction

The idea of active learning for higher education started gaining traction in the 1980s according to Bonwell and Eison [22]. Both authors provided a thorough overview of the meanings of active learning, teaching techniques that could encourage active learning, obstacles to implementation, and suggestions for promoting active learning. Faculty were encouraged to move away from traditional, lecturing-only style of teaching by adopting active learning strategies to engage students in knowledge exploration and high-order thinking in classroom settings. Some were techniques employing old audiovisual and early computer-based technology to motivate and help students retain the knowledge that they were learning. Simulation, debates, role playing, peer-teaching, etc., were other techniques that could generate interactions with or without using technology

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