An examination of the relationship between primary school student?s learning styles and their attitudes about interactive whiteboard use in classrooms

The rapid development of information and communication technologies has also affected our schools. Many eletronic devices now are used in the process of education and training. One of the rapidly spreading use of these devices in the world is interactive whiteboards. To use these devices effectively and efficiently, it is important to know the students? individual differences. In educational processes in schools, to know the most basics of individual differences in learning styles and to use these technologies with the individual differences in mind will improve the quality of education. Investigating the relationships between the opinions on the use of interactive whiteboards and the perception of students in different learning styles namely Seperation, Placement, Replacement and Assimilation will contribute the delivery of training environment with a more accurate strategies to the target group using this technology. Relational survey model used in this study, in addition to the relationship between the areas of students? learning styles and the status of their opinions about the use of interactive whiteboards in classrooms, statistical significance of differences were examined between namely gender, preschool education status, the current school, family monthly income and the duration, and frequency of interactive whiteboard use for students? learning styles and their opinions on the use of interactive whiteboard.Population of this study is the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students ( N= 469) being trained with interactive whiteboards in primary schools in the academic year 2011-2012 and in the province of Malatya. The data collection process consists of two phases: obtaining permits from the Malatya Provincial Directorate of National Education and implementation of the forms to students called ?Personal information Form?, ?Interactive Whiteboard Attitude Scale (IWBAS)?, and ?Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version III (KLSI-III)?. In accordance with sub-problems of the study, the SPSS 17.0 package program was used for the analysis of the data obtained. After the administration of Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test to determine the situation of normality, coefficients of skewness and kurtosis, normal distribution curves, scatter charts, box line charts, normal Q-Q charts, and Detrended Normal QQ charts are examined. In accordance with sub-objectives of the study, independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe test, and Kay-Square test were used. Kay-square where not applicable, the findings are presented by means of cross tables only. Students? learning styles in Diverginig, Accommodating, Converginig, Assimilating areas, students are distributed in a balanced manner whereas students with the learning style in the area of Assimilating was the smallest group.In accordinace of tehe findings of this study, no significant differences between IWBAS scores and areas of students? learning styles being determined according to KLSI-Version III, and between the factor scores of this scale were found. After examining whether there is a significant correlation between areas of students? learning styles and IWBAS scores on various variables, signifincat differences were found between IWBAS total scores and factor scores according to current schools; between areas of learning styles according to class levels; between IWBAS Factor-3 scoress according to father?s education status; between IWBAS Factor-2 scoress according to family income level; IWBAS Factor-3 scores according to the duration of interactive whiteboard use. No statistical significance of differences is verified on variables namely gender, preschool education status, frequency of interactive whiteboard use, areas of learning styles, IWBAS total scores and factors? scores. Various suggestions are made acccording to the data obtained from the results of this study.