What Social Cognitive Factors Influence Faculty Members’ Use of Computers for Teaching? A Literature Review

Although technology is moving into the classroom, faculty have been reluctant to adopt computers and revise their pedagogy. This literature review explores a range of research papers describing the social cognitive factors that affect a teacher's choice to use or avoid instructional technology. Based on social cognitive theory and human performance models, there are a number of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence a faculty member's use of technology. This article concentrates on the personal and behavioral factors of attitude and anxiety, self-efficacy, willingness to make a time commitment and take personal risk, computer competency, beliefs, knowledge, and perceived relevance. Using the theory of self-regulated learning (Zimmerman, 1989), teachers as students can successfully learn to use computers for instruction.