Point-and-Click Pedagogy: Is it Effective for Teaching Information Technology?

Abstract

This paper assesses the effectiveness of the adoption of curriculum content developed and supported by a global academic university-industry alliance sponsored by one of the world’s largest information technology software providers. Academic alliances promote practical and future-oriented education while providing access to proprietary software and technology. Specifically, this paper addresses a lack of quantitative analysis to substantiate the perceived benefits of using information technology “point-and-click” instructional pedagogy to teach fundamental business processes and concepts. The analysis of over 800 test questions from 229 students allowed inferences regarding the utilization of self-directed “point-and-click” driven case studies employed to teach software applications of business processes needed for supply chain management. Correlation studies and analysis of variance investigated data collected from 10 individual course sections over a two-and-one-half-year period in a four-year public university. The data showed statistically significant positive correlations between the pedagogy and conceptual learning. Further, the research provided evidence that the methodology is equally effective for teaching information technology applications using either face-to-face or distance education delivery methods.