PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

APP SMASHING TO BOLSTER PRESERVICE TEACHERS' DIGITAL TEACHING REPERTOIRES: "DON'T STOP DOING THIS" (CHAPTER 10)

By

Cassie Froemming, Mary Fahrenbruck, David Rutledge

Abstract

This action research study examines preservice teachers’ responses to a SAMR focused App Smashing engagement created with suggestions from other technology studies with preservice teachers. In this study, the authors used qualitative methods to collect and analyze data from interviews, a pre- and post-App Smashing engagement survey, and digital artifacts. Findings revealed that some preservice teachers viewed the exploratory, independent nature of the engagement as beneficial to their learning. Yet most requested more step-by-step instructions and guidance than the authors initially thought preservice teachers would need. Results challenge the notion that preservice teachers are digital natives who prefer to learn about technology integration through “faster, less step-by-step” lessons (Prensky, 2001, p. 3). The results are a reminder that teacher educators need time to strategically design learning experiences to encourage preservice teachers to integrate technology into their instructional plans in meaningful ways.

ELEMENTS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SAMR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION 

By

Cassie Froemming

Supervised By

Lauren Cifuentes, Chairperson

Abstract

In this qualitative research study the researcher sought to identify effective elements of professional development that encourage technology adoption and purposeful technology integration by early elementary educators. Puentedura’s (2014) Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition (SAMR) model served as the framework for the professional development. Seesaw, an online communications application and portfolio tool served as the testbed. The questions that guided this study before, during, and after the professional development intervention were: What elements of a SAMR focused professional development experience facilitate K-3 teachers’ change in their 1) adoption of technology and, 2) purposeful integration of technology into their classroom teaching practices? The researcher identified 16 elements from the literature that encouraged technology integration. The 16 identified elements were then explicitly designed into a professional development experience and iteratively examined. Findings from a pre- and post-intervention survey, participant reflections, digital artifacts, researcher notes, and a focus group indicate that the teachers’ technology integration practices were positively impacted by identified elements designed into the professional development. The effective combination of elements most valued by the teachers included sustained, one-on-one, online and face-to-face support, as well as the pedagogy elements that were socially situated, personalized, scaffolded, and learner-centered. These findings align with the theoretical framework and prior studies that grounded this study.

Keywords: early elementary education, technology professional development, technology adoption, technology integration, Seesaw, SAMR, social-constructivist learning theory, diffusion of innovations, developmentally appropriate practice