Date

4-2013

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Ellen Lowrie Black

Primary Subject Area

Education, Adult and Continuing; Education, General; Education, Teacher Training; Education, Technology

Keywords

Andragogy, best practices, Staff development, Technology integration, TPACK, twenty-first century technology

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Instructional Media Design | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand how in-service teachers with three to five years of experience perceive their pre-service and in-service training regarding the integration of twenty-first century technology into their instruction. Twenty participants from a rural public school system in southeast North Carolina participated. This study attempted to describe the following: (1) How do third through fifth year teachers in one public school district in North Carolina feel about their technological awareness and ability to integrate twenty-first century technologies into their instruction? (2) How do third through fifth year teachers in one public school district in North Carolina describe their college experiences with training them to integrate twenty-first century technology into their instruction? (3) How do third through fifth year teachers in one public school district in North Carolina describe the staff development initiatives aimed at training them to integrate twenty-first century technology into their instruction? Through interviews, a focus group, and the use of the Computer User Self-Efficacy (CUSE) survey, themes were identified that described participant perceptions of the phenomena of twenty-first century technology integration training. Participant reported themes were: (a) high level of confidence and skill when selecting twenty-first century technologies, (b) integration must be planned for, (c) college professors rarely integrated technologies, (d) twenty-first century technology assignments were neither purposeful nor rigorous, (e) integration confidence/competence began during field placements, (f) staff development exposed participants to a wealth of technologies, and (g) staff development lacked focus and purpose. In turn these themes were used in developing a list of best practices as articulated by the participants. The implications are discussed and further recommendations are made for college of education programs and staff development coordinators along with suggestions for future research.

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