A Study of the Quality of Practical Skill Activities in the Database System Management Course (96408)

Abstract

               The objectives of the research entitled “A Study of the Quality of Practical Skill Activities in the Database System Management Course (96408)” were; 1) to study students’ opinions on the quality of self-study exercises in the Database System Management Course  2) to study students’ opinions on the quality of practical skill activities in the Database System Management Course. The sample of the study obtained through purposive random sampling technique consisted of 264 Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) undergraduate students who enrolled in the Database System Management Course, and attended practical skill training in the second semester of the 2012 academic year. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire. Statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, and mean.

             Regarding to the students’ opinions on the quality of self-study exercises in the Database System Management Course, it was found that most of the students rated all aspects of the self-study exercises at high levels, namely, appropriateness of the exercises, usefulness of sample exercises on the website, usefulness of the instructional materials, students’ responsibility in doing the exercises, time allotment for doing exercises, application of knowledge gained from doing exercises to do practical skill activities, and linkage of knowledge gained from doing exercises to understand contents in instructional materials. Moreover, most of the students rated the quality of practical skill activities at high levels. They agreed on the appropriateness of the activities, and time allotment for doing the activities. The students also viewed that the activities helped them understand the course content.