Browsing by Subject "Learning Technologies"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Developing TPACK in Practice: a multiple case study of higher education instructors
    (2018-10) Andzenge, Senenge
    Engaging instructors with technology remains a problem in higher education (Westberry, McNaughton, Billot, & Gaeta, 2015). For many instructors, competency with new tools and practices remains a barrier to using technologies in their teaching (Buchanan, Sainter, & Saunders, 2013; Georgina & Hosford, 2009; Georgina & Olson, 2008; Kopcha, 2010, 2012; Roblyer & Doering, 2013). Developing competencies in teaching with technology can change or transform instructor’s thinking about themselves and their approach to teaching (Baran, Correia, & Thompson, 2011; Redmond, 2011). While professional development in higher education can offer instructors opportunities to develop knowledge and competencies that may enhance their practice (Lowenthal, 2008; Desimone, et. al 2002), many professional development experiences around technology either don’t allow learners to be self-driven, or place more emphasis on the technology than on concerns for pedagogy (Barber, 2011). This dissertation is a multiple case-study of higher education instructors addressing the following research questions: RQ1 How do instructors describe their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)? RQ2 How do professional development activities support instructor’s technological pedagogical content knowledge development? Using qualitative methods, data were collected from questionnaires, interviews, digital artifacts, and field notes and analyzed to offer perspectives of instructors describing their TPACK and how professional development activities support their knowledge development. Each instructor’s TPACK story traces through their beginnings teaching with technology, ways they have come to integrate technology and pedagogy through developing their practice, factors that motivated and drove them to pursue professional development opportunities which help them integrate technology and pedagogy, and tensions which continue to challenge them and their integration of technology and pedagogy. Findings from this research provide insights that can inform the implementation of faculty professional development programs and activities, support technology integration, and be an encouragement to instructors in similar higher education contexts.
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    Does Your School Have What It Takes? Implementation of a Bring Your Own Device Technology Program
    (2018-01) Amarteifio, Gifty
    The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to examine one high school’s journey towards the implementation of its BYOD initiative. The study had three specific aims. The first aim was to expand the context specific knowledge of implementing a BYOD initiative. The second aim was to assess similarities and differences between one-to-one and BYOD implementation strategies. The third aim was to potentially surface new strategies to support and improve the implementation of BYOD initiatives. Using interview and survey data from students, educators, and administrators, the study provided a detailed narrative of one school’s BYOD implementation journey. The study also found great overlap between one-to-one and BYOD implementation strategies, with some differentiated emphasis on specific strategies. Lastly, the findings showed that BYOD frameworks should intentionally incorporate the use of a pilot phase and a comprehensive needs assessment to enhance the implementation process. Implications for school-level administrative leaders, academics, and all those interested in theory and research to further the quality of implementation practice can be found in the final chapter of the study.
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    Examining Technology Integration Practices and Beliefs of Grades 1-3 Teachers: A Case Study
    (2018-12) Schwartz, Derek
    This study examined how technology integration beliefs and practices of first and second grade teachers impacted their respective teaching practices. Technology is becoming more deeply integrated into US public school curricula, and it is therefore helpful to understand how teacher beliefs might affect how technology gets used within teaching practices, especially in the early primary grades. While belief systems are of critical importance to a teacher’s technology integration efforts and can pose a barrier to technology integration (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Lefwich, Sadik, Sendurer, & Sendurer 2012; Funkhouser & Mouza, 2013; Lin, 2012; Liu, 2012), the impact of those belief systems is not well understood. Furthermore, P-12 educational research literature may be underrepresenting grades 1-3, and so this research strives to also be pragmatically useful for teachers and district administrators. An exploratory case study (Stake, 1995; Merriam, 1998) was conducted with three current teachers in grades 1-3 to obtain new insights on how these beliefs manifest in current classrooms to address three research questions: (1) What are the experiences of grades 1-3 teachers trying to integrate technology? (2) What beliefs do grades 1-3 teachers have, connected to technology integration? (3) What other factors affect how a grades 1-3 teacher integrates technology? With a case being defined as each individual teacher, this qualitative case study collected data through initial interviews, naturalistic observations, and follow up interviews. Analysis consisted of values coding and theming the data (Saldana, 2016) to identify six themes: (1) Pedagogy and focus on students wherein teachers’ consistent primary focus was on meeting students’ needs and engaging them in learning experiences, both with and without technology; (2) Technology knowledge that facilitated the use or avoidance of technology; (3) Technology as a barrier when design failures created problems for students; (4) School as ecosystem, as students have needs seemingly disconnected from formal classroom learning but that impact their learning experiences; (5) Teachers’ needs that, when left unmet created barriers to technology integration; and (6) Change management, especially in regards to stakeholders’ apprenticeship of observation (Lortie, 1975), made innovative uses of technology and pedagogy more difficult to implement. Insights gained from this research were used to make recommendations for addressing issues in each of the six themes to be used by teachers, district administrations, and education research as foundations in their own contexts. Future directions for this research include laying the foundations for a new model of technology integration for teachers.
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    What Would Grace Hopper Do? Reclaiming Women's Place in Computer Science
    (2019-12) Isaacson, Kris
    This dissertation investigated the experiences of college women pursuing computer science degrees at a mid-size university in the upper Midwest. Between the 1940s and 1960s computer programming was considered “women’s work,” but by the 1980s women were being systematically phased out as men recognized the importance (not to mention financial gain) of software development (Brewer, 2017). The percentage of undergraduate degrees in computer science awarded to women and employment in the field reflects the gendered attitudes towards computing. Undergraduate degrees awarded to women and the ratio of women employed in computing-related fields have been in decline in recent decades and are currently at 19 and 25 percent respectively (“Digest of Education Statistics,” 2018; Funk & Parker, 2018). The number of men entering computer science since the early 2000s has outpaced that of women, meaning that as an overall, the ratio of women in the field has gone down (Trapiani & Hale, 2019). Moreover, women tend to leave computer science degree programs at nearly twice the rate of their male counterparts (Chen, 2013; White & Massiha, 2016) and there does not appear to be any one definitive reason why women are leaving. Some suggested reasons include the dominant male hegemony, preconceived notions about what it means to “be technical,” stereotype threat, low confidence, and a lack of female peers and role models. The underrepresentation of women in computing is rooted in larger cultural issues; therefore, sociocultural theory and sense of belonging were the conceptual frameworks used to guide this dissertation. A case study design was selected for its ability to gain a deeper understanding of the women’s lived experiences within a specific context and how those experiences shaped their identity, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and decisions to persist. Five women, studying software development and/or game development at North Central University participated in this research. The data used in this research included transcripts from two in-depth interviews with each of the participants, transcripts from interviews with the academic program directors, classroom observation field notes, and university enrollment numbers. Seven themes and eight sub-themes were derived from the data analysis, were deeply interconnected, and illustrated multiple aspects of the women’s experiences as students. The concept of duality, where the women were caught up in a continuous cycle of divergent cultural demands, was determined to be the most pivotal theme insomuch that it interacted with the remaining themes and shaped the women’s overall experiences. Five of the themes manifested out of the dichotomous value and belief systems between broader society and the computing micro-culture. The final theme demonstrated the necessity for academic support and mentorship. The findings of this dissertation indicate that there is hope, that there are women who persist in computing degrees, and that concerted efforts to make the computing micro-culture more inclusive show promise for bringing about gender equity. Universities can bring about change and improve women’s sense of belonging in the traditionally male-dominated micro-culture by deliberately building communities of women, providing support, demonstrating empathy, and ensuring women have role models. The findings also indicate that additional research and much more work is still needed to bring about gender parity in the field of computer science.