How Are Teachers Being Prepared to Integrate Technology Into Their Lessons?

Framework

The conceptual framework that will be used is the Technological Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (TPACK) framework, which shows three forms of knowledge necessary to teacheffectively with technology (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). These three forms of knowledge are Technological Knowledge, Content Knowledge, and Pedagogical
Knowledge. The area that overlaps represents the relationship between the
three forms of knowledge. The Technological Pedagogical Knowledge is when the teacher understands how the influence or constraints technology can have on the content. The Pedagogical Content Knowledge is when the teacher is able to integrate teaching and subject expertise together. The Technological Pedagogical Knowledge is when a teacher understands how the use of certain technologies can transform teaching and learning. Finally, the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is the basis on how to teach with technology effectively. In order to reach this point, teachers need to have a conceptual understanding of the three forms of knowledge . The TPACK framework is an aspirational model for effective use of technology in the student-centered classroom for teaching and learning.

Methods

This mixed methods study provided rich, descriptive data on how elementary teachers
who have access to devices are using them in their classrooms to teach their students about digital learning. It also provided data on how the teachers learned to integrate the devices they have into their curriculum, if they are, and their perceptions on how they were prepared by their teacher credentialing program and school site to use the available technology in their classroom. The data collected included interviews with three elementary teachers, one from primary and two from upper grades. A survey that included various teachers from different elementary schools that have access to devices for students was also used. The use of more than one type of data
allowed me, the researcher to triangulate the findings across the data sources.

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study

Due to factors beyond my control, there were some limitations and delimitations to this study:
● Study participation was voluntary.
● The study focused on instructional technology in the elementary
classroom.
● The data collected is limited due to the study taking place during a brief
period of time.
● Due to me being both the main research instrument, the researcher, and
interviewer, the study is limited due to that fact that it includes only one
perspective and level of expertise.
● Data was collected from teachers who have taught for at least three years
or more.
● Interviews were only conducted with three teachers
● The data used in the analysis was self-reported.
● The study was limited by the number of participants surveyed.

Assumptions

As the researcher, I made the following assumptions in conducting this mixed methods
study:

● The data collected was accurately represented.
● The teachers interviewed and surveyed had sufficient knowledge
regarding the teacher credentialing program they attended and of their
current school site.

Results

Even though technology is changing and evolving at a rapid rate, elementary classrooms are having difficulty keeping up. To prepare students for the 21st century, teachers need to involve their students in digital learning. Research has shown that effective technology integration in the classroom can increase student achievement. However, teacher education programs are not providing preservice teachers with enough coursework on how to integrate technology effectively into the elementary curriculum, and even though professional development on this topic is available for inservice teachers, attendance is not mandatory. Unfortunately, the students that are being affected negatively by this are those that attend urban
schools. Not only do their schools not have enough working technology for all students, their teachers are not being prepared to practice instructional technology in the classroom. This study aimed to analyze how elementary teachers in District A are involving their students in digital learning, and what their perspectives are on how their preservice and inservice training is preparing them to integrate technology in the classroom. Though, this study is limited in scope, therefore, not generalizable to the larger population, it provided useful information as to why some teachers are not using technology in the classroom, and what type of coursework/ training on this topic would be beneficial for teachers to have. In order to allow for greater generalizability and address the digital and utilization divide that exists in elementary schools, future studies should broaden and expand the number of participants for the study.

Importance

There is great urgency to prepare teachers to integrate technology in the classroom using the TPACK framework, so that they can develop their students’ skills in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, creativity and innovation, and information and media literacy. These are the skills that students need to acquire today in order to be successful in the competitive global economy that exists today (Partnership for 21st Century Skills [P21], 2014). The study looked at how teachers are being prepared to integrate technology effectively into their classroom. This is important to know because it can inform teacher credentialing programs about which type of coursework in the area of instructional technology is working, as well as which type of professional development for teachers is having a positive effect. Overall, the aim was to learn how elementary teachers are using technology with their students, and to get insights into the perceptions of these teachers on how they feel their teacher credentialing program and professional development prepared them to do so. Institutes of higher education, practitioners, and school administrators will find this study useful because factors that affect inservice teachers’ perceptions of “feeling prepared” to use technology will be identified, thus giving the opportunity to improve teacher credentialing
programs and the outcomes of preservice teacher learning. Also, findings that reveal what is working in some programs could serve as benchmarks for other programs to follow as well as for professional development purposes.
This study focused on elementary teachers who have some type of access to technology for their students at their school site. The survey was taken by various teachers who met this requirement and three teachers who took the survey, one from primary and two from upper grades were interviewed. In the methodology section, the sample, population, and school sites where the teachers were from are discussed in more depth.

References

Jennifer Ventura
jennifer.ventura@lausd.net

Soledad Vasquez
svasqu13@lausd.net