EXAMINING THE ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF GEOGRAPHY AT ADVANCED LEVEL: A FOCUS ON SIX HIGH SCHOOLS IN WARREN PARK/ MABELREIGN DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE

Abstract

The advent of modern technology has been a welcome development in education. It is a
development that was envisaged to make teaching and learning easier, enjoyable and
accessible to all who require it. E-learning has now been used to support the traditional
methods of teaching and learning. The introduction of computers in education has witnessed
a change from the traditional approaches to teaching to the use of computer assisted
instruction (CAI). To support the use of modern technology, the Zimbabwean government
has distributed computers to both primary and secondary schools. To complement
government effort, parents and other stakeholders through School Development Committees,
School Development Associations and Old Students Associations have contributed to the
acquisition of educational resources that include computers. All these efforts were meant to
facilitate teaching and learning in schools. Despite these efforts the performance in
Geography at Advanced level has remained low compared to other subjects. The purpose of
the study was to examine the extent to which computer assisted instruction (CAI) has been
utilised in the teaching of Geography at Advanced level. The study also made an analysis of
other approaches used in the teaching and learning of Geography. The study used the mixed
methodology and the descriptive survey design. Data was collected using structured
questionnaires, open-ended questionnaires, and face-to-face interviews. The six schools were
conveniently sampled and the respondents were randomly selected. The study concluded that
there are many factors that have contributed to poor performance in Geography at A level.
Some of the factors that emerged were lack computer skills for both teachers and pupils.
There was limited use of computers in map work. Other areas that did not receive serious
consideration in the teaching and learning of Geography were field work and hands- on
approach to teaching and learning Geography as a subject. The study recommends that there
be a paradigm shift in terms of the methods used in the teaching and learning of Geography at
Advanced level.