Education Commons^™

Investigating Cultural Values And Educational Technology Adoption In Central Asia: A Case Study, Randall W. Gwin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Although the adoption of new tools for communication and learning could reasonably be expected to influence culture, little is known about the relationship between cultural values and the adoption or diffusion of Web 2.0 technologies. This case study examines the way in which the cultural values of 59 teachers in four Central Asian countries influenced and were influenced by Web 2.0 technologies during five to eighteen months of online professional development. Data was collected through self-introductions, Likert-scale and open-ended prompts on initial and final surveys, online forum discussions, and capstone projects. This allows an examination of changes in the participants’ …

Teachers’ Perspectives On How One-To-One Devices Influence Their English Language Learners’ Academic Experience, Christine Jimenez-Johnson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

As the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow in classrooms across school districts, educators continue to seek innovative instructional methods to increase ELLs’ learning outcomes. Technological applications and devices are changing the way society communicates and collaborates, and school districts are incorporating different technologies to enhance teaching and learning. More so, technological devices are increasingly being used to enhance the learning experiences of ELLs and are changing the way teachers are teaching English language instruction.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perspectives on how one-to-one devices influence ELLs’ academic experiences. The population included …

Addressing Student Engagement During Covid-19: Secondary Stem Teachers Attend To The Affective Dimension Of Learner Needs, Tiffany Roman, Laurie Brantley-Dias, Michael Dias, Belinda Edwards

Faculty and Research Publications

This case study examines how a cohort of eleven induction secondary STEM teachers engaged learners during the onset of COVID-19 and their designs for student engagement given an online or blended teaching context in fall 2020. Participants attended a summer professional development workshop guided by trauma-informed teaching practices and learner engagement conceptual frameworks. Through the analysis of teacher artifacts and interviews, we identified dimensions of student engagement that teachers prioritized. Results indicate a marked increase in teachers’ attention to affective and social dimensions of learner engagement. We argue that teacher awareness and action in the affective domain of student engagement …

Ready To Engage? Urban Middle School Teachers’ Responsiveness To Targeted Engagement Interventions On Their Virtual Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Svetlana Nikic

Dissertations

Teachers’ effectiveness is associated with their instructional practices and is ultimately linked to students’ learning outcomes. In order to impact teachers’ effectiveness, schools focus substantial effort and resources on professional development led by an assumption that teachers’ classroom practices can be improved through targeted interventions. Even if this premise is correct, little information is available about how much a teacher’s practice may change through interventions, or which aspects of instructional practice are more receptive to improving teacher effectiveness (Garret et al., 2019).

This study took place at an urban middle school and examined teachers’ responsiveness to targeted engagement intervention in …

Pella Middle School Technology Integration School Improvement Plan, Morgan Ernst

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The demands and use of technology are constantly changing in the school setting. Teachers in the Pella Community School District felt as though they did not have adequate technology skills to deliver effective instruction virtually and requested further training. This school improvement plan contains a literature review to determine effective components of professional development. The plan also outlines a semester of professional development sessions for technology integration including tools and deliverables to demonstrate evidence of teacher learning.

Influence Of Online Professional Learning Networks On Teacher Self-Efficacy For Using Information Communication Technology, Jeremy A. O'Toole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information communication technology (ICT) is increasingly used to enhance teaching and learning, but many teachers lack mastery-level experiences using these computing technologies in the classroom. To further their knowledge, some teachers have turned to online professional learning networks (PLNs) for development, but further research is needed to explore how and why these networks change teachers’ practice. Framed by Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this study was to explore the influence of online PLNs on teachers’ perceptions of their technological self-efficacy for implementing ICT in the classroom. The research question of this basic qualitative study with interviews addressed …

Understanding Western Pacific Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences Implementing Technology In The Classroom, Roque Castro Indalecio

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Western Pacific Region school district with six public high schools, district administrators implemented an educational technology training program (ETTP) to improve technology integration in the classroom as measured by the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool, but there was no follow-up to determine how the teachers perceived the ETTP and to identify the experiences of teachers related to instructional technology after taking the district training. This basic qualitative study, guided by the technology acceptance model, addressed this problem in the district by exploring how the teachers perceived the technology professional development program provided by the district and the teachers’ …

Identifying Self-Determined Learning Practices Within Social Media For Teacher Professional Development, Leah Mcjilton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The collective increase of learner-centered teaching and substantial technology use in the classroom has given instructors potential opportunities to support students in developing lifelong learning skills. The ability to manage one’s own learning is an essential skill for lifelong learners in today’s workforce. Heutagogy, or self-determined learning, suggests that individuals have agency with respect to how, what, and when they learn. Heutagogy provides a framework for making the most of these developments, drawing on established learner-centered education theories. The key principles of heutagogy provide a foundation for designing and developing learning environments using social media. In order for teachers to …

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Professional Development For Blended Learning Implementation, Jessica Wear

Ed.D. Dissertations

As technology use in the classroom became more prevalent, so did the questions of how to effectively integrate technology into instructional practice. From this rise in questions about how to effectively integrate technology, the term blended learning emerged. Blended learning serves as a description of practices for educators to effectively implement and integrate technology in classrooms. Through an adult learning framework, I used a qualitative interpretive research design to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of professional development for implementing blended learning. I sampled 32 middle school teachers who completed questionnaires, and I interviewed three teachers based on their responses to …