| The purpose of the study is to identify the essential benchmarks of technological literacy to be required of 9th graders in Taiwan, and to determine assessment methods for these benchmarks. Its results, the clarification of the benchmarks of technological literacy as well as the appropriate assessment tasks, provide a foundation for what technological literacy means to technology teachers and students in Taiwan, and offer assistance to their teaching and learning, measuring achievement, and evaluating programs.; The Delphi technique was employed in the study that consists of one initial survey and three reiterative questionnaires. Twenty-four panelists, all technology education professionals with extensive teaching and research experience in Taiwan, participated in the study. The initial survey, Delphi probe, was designed to collect a provisional list of benchmarks and assessment tasks for measuring technological literacy. A list of 105 benchmarks and five assessment tasks was compiled from the responses to the initial survey.; In the three rounds of the Delphi process, panel members responded to rate the importance of each benchmark using a four-point Likert scale. The importance and level of agreement of each benchmark was then examined by calculating the arithmetic mean, mode, standard deviation, range, and data distribution. The criteria for lack of consensus include: a standard deviation of .780 or higher and an agreement level of 60% or lower. Those items without consensus were maintained into the next questionnaire for further inquiry.; Started from the second-round questionnaire, participants were shown the mean score of each benchmark with his or her rating from the previous round. With this information, they could reconsider their rating when filling out the new questionnaire.; Through the three rounds of Delphi studies, 60 out of 105 benchmarks were identified as important benchmarks. Their level of importance was analyzed and thematic connections between the benchmarks were explored. Furthermore, they were presented in five categories: Understanding of Technology, Inquiry and Analytical Skills, Communication Skills, Design and Build Skills, and Application and Problem Solving Skills. |
