Listen and learn: Research paper Research papers are a pairing of two 18 minute presentations followed by 18 minutes of Discussion led by a Discussant, with remaining time for Q & A.
This is presentation 1 of 2, scroll down to see more details.
Other presentations in this group:
Research has identified that teacher implementation of technology is affected by pedagogical beliefs (Hsu, 2013; Kim et al., 2013), self-efficacy (Al-Awidi & Alghazo, 2012), and attitudes towards technology (Teo, 2011). In addition, intrinsic barriers to teaching with technology include attitudes, beliefs, and skills (Ertmer, 1999). In a study of 55 pre-service teachers, tech-centered experiences were associated with an increased self-efficacy relating to technology use in the classroom. However, the level of increase was affected by teacher beliefs. Teachers with traditional teacher beliefs and an initial low level of intention to use technology increased their use of technology after tech-related experiences. However, teachers with constructivist beliefs did not show a change in intention (Han et al., 2017). Zhang (2020) also found that teacher beliefs were essential and affected the digital tools and tasks they chose.
A teacher’s perceived mindset, more specifically, may be an important belief that can impact a teacher’s pedagogical and professional decisions. According to Dweck, people who have a “growth mindset” feel they have greater influence over the development of their abilities and skills, whereas those with a “fixed mindset” believe essentially that their ability is fixed despite their efforts to improve (Dweck, 2006). Based on Dweck’s research, people with more fixed mindsets often spend time trying to prove themselves and do not engage in challenging tasks as they are afraid of exposing deficiencies. Individuals who have a growth mindset orientation seek out new learning opportunities and thrive under difficult challenges.
More recently, the concept of mindsets has been applied to e-learning pedagogy and behaviors related to technology decisions (Ashok, 2014). Teachers with a growth mindset value learning, which encourages them to experiment and find what works best for them, increase participation in professional development, observe other teachers, ask for supervisor feedback, and deal with issues related to their praxis (Dweck, 2014). Teacher beliefs about their capacity to alter their teaching ability affected pre-service teachers' teaching satisfaction (Nalipay et al., 2019). Research has also shown that teachers’ mindset about teaching ability positively predicted enjoyment and engagement (Frondozo et al., 2020).
The COVID-19 disruption and shift from in-person schooling to online teaching may change education forever. According to Hattie (2021), this disruption provides an opportunity to improve teaching practice based on the lessons learned during the pandemic. Recent research has supported this suspected long-term change to teaching format, indicating that teachers plan on integrating technology more once back in the classroom (van der Spoel, 2020). Additionally, most teachers surveyed were willing to adopt online tools and continue to use them after the pandemic but that teachers needed training support (Jimoylannis et al., 2021). Notably, most of the changes to instruction were designed and implemented by the teachers rather than school leaders (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). This finding suggests the importance of understanding factors that supported the transition to e-learning for teachers is fundamental to facilitating a large-scale change of school to an online format.
To collect as many online teacher responses as possible, a non-random, purposeful sample was implemented. This technique is defined by Patton (1990) as the method of selecting specific information-rich cases from which the investigator can learn significant information central to the study. In this case, participants were chosen based on predetermined features, specifically, educators who currently teach remotely (online) in K-6 schools during Covid-19 (were not previously online instructors) and connected to the university of the school the author teaches.
The online survey consisted of demographic data questions, questions about their teaching environment, challenges and professional development opportunities and several questions about mindset (Appendix A). A Likert scale survey to determine the nature of teacher’s mindsets included questions such as 1) I like work that I'll learn from even if I make a lot of mistakes, and 2) When something is hard, it just makes me want to work more on it, not less (Dweck, 2014). Teacher scores were calculated using a scale of Disagree a Lot (1) Disagree (2) Disagree A Little (3) Agree A Little (4) Agree (5) Agree A Lot (6).
The participant pool for the current study included a total of 64 teachers from four elementary schools who were asked to participate in the survey. 36 teachers completed the survey yielding a response rate of 56% which is an acceptable rate for online surveys (Baruch & Holtom, 2008).
A chi-square test of independence was performed to examine the relation between teachers’ mindsets and professional development participation. The relation between these variables was significant, X² (1, N = 36) = 16, p = .00006. Teachers with higher mindsets were engaged in more professional development than those that had lower mindset scores. Additional analysis was conducted to measure the impact of the scores on the ratio of challenges listed and participation in professional development. While the number of challenges was not significantly different between groups, the ratio of challenges compared to opportunities was significant, X² (1, N=36) = 7.1, p =.00076.
Results from interviews indicated several distinct differences between teachers who scored above the median compared to those below. The largest distinction between groups of higher and lower mindset teachers were observed in the themes of appreciation and ongoing use of technology after the pandemic. Teachers who had a higher mindset mentioned specifically how they had learned new tools and strategies during the pandemic that they incorporated and wanted to continue to use when back in the classroom. These included sites or programs that provided students with new opportunities (i.e. resources like books), the ability to differentiate based on students’ individual learning needs, and as a communication tool to involve families. Those with lower mindsets did not support further use after returning to the physical classroom.
Another theme observed to be different based on the two groups of teachers was the ability to connect with students and their families during the pandemic using technology. Stark differences were found of teachers who got to know their students better than ever before and those that did not feel connected at all. For higher mindset teachers, the glimpse into the student’s home brought a new perspective and helped them gain a much better appreciation for their students and where they were coming from when compared to how lower mindset teachers.
Finally, teachers who had higher growth-related mindsets also mentioned more frequently how mistakes were common and that they were used to them or even embraced them as part of the experience in learning and growing especially during this difficult time.
Whether or not a teacher has a fixed or growth mindset is an important area to examine when studying teacher performance online as mindset is related to effort, persistence and achievement (Dweck, 2006). This project was designed to determine the impact of mindset on decisions made during online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. The shutting down of schools and dramatic shift from classroom teaching to remote online learning was sudden and one cannot underappreciate the great courage and effort needed to continue teaching under such difficult conditions.
The results of this research are important to consider as an initial analysis of data indicated some differences between teachers with higher and lower scores on the mindset survey. Teachers who scored above the median reported more participation in professional development and had a higher ratio of opportunities versus challenges. They also differed in their response to teaching decisions and behaviors. These findings suggest that mindset makes a difference when considering opportunities for growth and change. These results are aligned with previous research suggesting growth mindset is a personal belief that one can get better at doing something by working hard.
Al-Awidi, H. M., & Alghazo, I. M. (2012). The effect of student teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for technology integration in the UAE. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(5), 923-941.
Ashok, T. S. (2014). Development of a new mindset for elearning pedagogy: For the teacher and the learner, Current Issues in Emerging eLearning, 1(4). Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/ciee/vol1/iss1/4
Archambault, L. & Borup, J. (2020). Coming together as a research community to support educators and students in K-12 online and emergency remote settings. Journal of Online Learning Research, 6(1), 1-3. Waynesville, NC USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved January 8, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/216154/.
Baruch, Y. and Holtom, B. C. (2008). Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human relations, 61, 8, pp. 1139-1160.
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Dweck, C. (2014). Teachers’ mindsets: “Every student has something to teach me”: Feeling overwhelmed? Where did your natural teaching talent go? Try pairing a growth mindset with reasonable goals, patience, and reflection instead. It’s time to get gritty and be a better teacher. Educational Horizons, 93(2), 10–15.
Ertmer, P. A. (1999). Addressing first-and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration. Educational technology research and development, 47(4), 47-61.
Frondozo, C.E., King, R.B., Nalipay, M.J.N. et al. (2020). Mindsets matter for teachers, too: Growth mindset about teaching ability predicts teachers’ enjoyment and engagement. Curr Psychol. https://doi-org.pnw.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01008-4.
Han, I., Shin, W. S., & Ko, Y. (2017). The effect of student teaching experience and teacher beliefs on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and intention to use technology in teaching. Teachers and Teaching, 23(7), 829-842.
Hattie, J. (2021). What Can We Learn from COVID-Era Instruction?. Educational Leadership, 78(8), 14-17.
Hsu, P. S. (2016). Examining current beliefs, practices and barriers about technology integration: A case study. TechTrends, 60(1), 30-40.
Kim, C., Kim, M. K., Lee, C., Spector, J. M., & DeMeester, K. (2013). Teacher beliefs and technology integration. Teaching and teacher education, 29, 76-85.
Lieberman, M. (2020). Like It or Not, K-12 Schools Are Doing a Digital Leapfrog During COVID- 19. Education Week, 39(34), 13.
Nalipay, M. J. N., Mordeno, I. G., & Frondozo, C. E. (2019). Implicit beliefs about teaching ability, teacher emotions, and teaching satisfaction. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 28(4), 313-325.
Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Teo, T. (2011). Factors influencing teachers’ intention to use technology: Model development and test. Computers & Education, 57(4), 2432-2440.
Zhang, C. (2020). From Face-to-Face to Screen-to-Screen: CFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Digital Teaching Competence during the Pandemic. Int. J. Chin. Lang. Teach, 1, 35-52.
Return
Trips and Tours