The effects of tablet PC-based instruction on junior high school students' self-regulated learning and learning achievement

Abstract

Tablet personal computers (PCs) are being widely used in K-12 education. The effectiveness of tablet PC-based instruction on student learning outcomes remains unclear. This quasi-experimental study examines the effects of tablet PC-based instruction on students' self-regulated learning and learning achievement in Chinese language courses. Participants were 198 students from four junior high school classes in Northwest China. Two classes (n = 101) were set as the experimental group by employing a tablet PC-based instructional approach, while the other two classes (n = 97) were the control group, using a traditional approach without tablet PCs. The results showed students receiving tablet PC-based instruction had significantly higher learning achievement and self-regulated learning abilities than those receiving a traditional lecture-based approach without tablet PCs. In addition, this study found no significant differences in learning achievement among students with different learning styles. These results indicate that tablet PC-based instruction offers significant benefits for junior high school students.