A mixed methods research of pre-service teachers’ perceptions about the benefits of wiki-based tasks and discussion boards

Abstract

The aim of the research was to explore pre-service teachers’ perspectives towards the use of wikis and discussion boards to improve writing skills and promote collaboration. A total of 358 pre-service teachers, enrolled in the subject English I, participated in it. They ranged in age from 20 to 58. We adopted a mixed methods research approach to integrate results and carry out a combined discussion that allowed making interferences to understand better and to have a broader vision of the phenomenon. The data analysis revealed the impact of the e-activities on the participants’ confidence in English. They emphasized the opportunities afforded by the wikis to promote individual and cooperative learning, and by discussion boards to communicate. In our research, we demonstrated that the use of a mixed methods research enhanced the validity and reliability of the data, and added rigor to researches in technology and second language.