Date
12-16-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Michael Grayston
Keywords
cognitive development, critical thinking, multimodal, social-emotional development, technology
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Vandross, Michelle Lynn, "The Impact of Classroom Technology Integration on Elementary Students’ Cognitive Development and Critical Thinking" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7810.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7810
Abstract
This dissertation examined the impact of technology use in the elementary classroom on students’ ability to employ critical thinking skills. The objective was to initiate change by promoting professional development for elementary school teachers, leading to a meaningful and appropriate thought process. The primary intention of the literature review is to provide a three-fold framework, grounded in Biblical, theoretical, and thematic perspectives, that offers new insights into social-emotional learning by serving students through collaborative learning. The literature review lays the foundation for demonstrating the connection between Biblical integration and the cycle of social-emotional learning that supports students’ cognitive processing in problem-solving and in student leadership roles. Building on a mixed-methods perspective, the procedure collected data through a teacher questionnaire, teacher and student classroom observations, and teacher reflections to assess mindsets and attitudes toward implementing and analyzing multimodal teaching and learning methods in the elementary school classroom, with a focus on cognitive development for critical thinking. The research consisted of creating a booklet that promotes the use of multimodal teaching and learning methods in the elementary school classroom at Faith Christian School in Summerville, SC. The booklet serves as a tool to provide reciprocal ways of individualized and cooperative learning that will address students’ underdeveloped cognitive skills in critical thinking and problem-solving. Finally, this dissertation combines the application of biblical principles with social-emotional learning to support the development of critical thinking.
