Action Research Project Literature Review

Teachers during a professional development workshop

The purpose of this research is to provide professional development for teachers in the area of technology. Being a teacher for nearly a decade now I am convinced that as teachers we need to refine our role in the classroom. Teachers develop routines to increase efficiency but in doing so take the creative element out of teaching. These routines become easy but the danger is that they are applied repetitively without adjusting them to changes in students and changes in societies tools. Both teacher and student become bored. “Teachers and their books were information oracles, spreading knowledge to a population with few other ways to get it” (Lanier, 1997). I have worked with many teachers that chose to be the orators of the class, which caused many of their students to fall asleep. Then later those same teachers would ask why their students had poor attention spans. I saw first hand the positive effect technology usage had on my students. They performed better and were better prepared when they left middle school, and much of this I attribute to their exposure to technology in my classroom. My students were more creative and produced amazing projects in class simply by exposing them to the possibilities that technology presented them. “Perhaps most important, technology can support and enhance students’ creativity” (Futrell, 2001). While many of my colleagues approached technology use as having students type reports and create PowerPoint presentation I tried to encourage students to find creative ways to collaborate with their peers to create unique end products. “Teachers, the OTA researchers concluded, rarely entice students to use computers for desktop publishing, computer simulations, or electronic mail” (Cooley, 1998). For quite some time I have wanted to change this attitude and behavior on the part of my colleagues. Hence, the reason for this research project.

It is my belief that through professional development I hope to inspire teachers to become better technology users and at the same time improve their teaching practice. Unfortunately, I feel that this has to be addressed now more so in schools as a result of the lack that teacher credential programs focus of making technology an important part of the credentialing process. “For the most part, Mary observed that technology is not a focus for teacher preparation programs, schools, districts or practitioners” (McGee, 2000, p.203). What makes matters worse is that schools and districts offer very little in terms of technology professional development. “National statistics have shown that teachers receive far less on-the-job training in technology than any other professional group” (Tenbusch, 1998). As a result most of my focus is on providing teachers at my school site the much-needed professional development to bridge this gap. I can think back to my own teaching credential program and can hardly remember any course that offered me the opportunity to develop my technology skills. “Mary feels that her teacher education program did not stress technology integration or skill development methods” (McGee, 2000, p.204). As you can see I’m not the only one that feels this lack of preparation in regards to technology integration, and the interesting thing about it is that when I have asked other teachers most have stated similar concerns.

Another problem I see in the success of technology integration is that many teachers are afraid of the technology. There are many reasons why I believe this occurs, and it relates to teachers’ fears of being replaced or feelings of inadequacy. “When the new computers are unpacked and set up in the classroom, you might find that teachers feel threatened, afraid, or just plain apathetic toward them” (Tenbusch, 1998). Sometimes the fear is not so much regarding apathy rather it is in large part due to fears of having to pay for the computer if it breaks. “…many teachers are afraid of breaking the machines…” (McGee, 2000, p.204). This year alone I have had a teacher tell me that she doesn’t use the brand new computer we have offered her because she is afraid of breaking the computer. She still has it in the box it came in. She would rather not use the computer than to risk breaking it even after I explained to her that if the computer were to break she would not be responsible for the damage.

Resistance to adopting new tools or changing the way educators teach has also been a major problem in the integration of technology. Teachers are people and it is sometimes forgotten that as teachers we tend to get stuck in habits. “People are creatures of habit. Once teachers grow accustomed to a particular teaching style or a way of relating to their students and colleagues, it’s often tough to consider alternative approaches” (Hartzel, 2003, p.41). I can certainly attest to the fact that when I have gotten comfortable in a particular teaching style or situation it was hard to break the habit it or even try something new. It is much easier to stay in that habit than it is to break that rut. Sometimes we just don’t want to give up that imaginary stage that teaching affords us. We want to remain the center of attention at all times, and sometimes I get the sense that as teachers we are just a bit too full of ourselves. “Teachers don’t want to give up the stage” (McGee, 2000, p.206). If we know that there is a change about to come down we are in support of it as long as it doesn’t affect us in any way. “Most of us support change so long as it does not disrupt our established conventions” (Cooley, 1998). I can remember we tried to implement a reading program at our school where we all had to put everything down and read for 10 minutes everyday. The amount of resistance the administration got was amazing. I kept thinking that it was only 10 minutes and it would serve the students to see us modeling good reading habits. Nevertheless, we ended up not doing the reading program as a result of the negative feedback we got from the teachers.

One factor that I have noticed in teachers being resistant to using technology has been the past experiences they have had. For many teachers frustration is a major part of why they don’t embrace computers and technology in their daily practice. Perhaps at some point in their careers they encountered a problem with a computer that just left a sour taste in their mouth. In developing an effective professional development for teachers it is important to keep the mentality to approach the situation with “baby steps”. “Small successes emerged as the most powerful weapon against a fatalistic attitude” (Hadley, Eisenwine, Hakes, & Hines, 2002, p.11). I have gotten the sense that for many teachers that take on that fatalistic attitude it is a direct result of a frustration with a major project gone wrong. Another aspect of teacher resistance is that if the professional development doesn’t offer teachers the ability to use what they have learned immediately in the classroom they tend to see it as a waste of time. “Training is worthless if you can’t immediately apply what you’ve learned” (Anderson, 2003, p.6). I learned this quickly in the many years of experience I had in conference workshops. If I didn’t offer something tangible for the people present at the workshop many of them just walked out and I was left with a handful of people just listening to me speak. When I began offering tangible items the room was always filled to capacity.

As teachers we are always searching for ways to make our lives easier, so approaching the resistance that teachers may have in using a computer it might be a good idea to approach it from a usability standpoint. “Show them how computers can improve the quality of their lives, both inside and outside the classroom” (Tenbusch, 1998). One of my teachers at my current site is excited about being able to use her laptop to pay her bills online and buy movie tickets. However, putting aside all the useful factors that a computer brings to any person, one factor that must be addressed in professional development is the sense that technology use is a valuable tool in the arsenal of any teacher. “We must also convince them of the value of engaging students in problem-based or project-based learning with these new tools” (McKenzie, 2001). I have heard many teachers justify why technology is not an important tool in the field of education. Everything from “the only thing kids will do is play on the computer” to “it’s just a waste of time and money to use a computer”. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore technology as a powerful tool in education.

In developing a successful professional development program it is important to keep in mind that individualized attention is important to the success of peaking teacher interest. “Individual tutoring is crucial for getting past reluctance of fear” (Tenbusch, 1998). Once you can get past the initial fear of introducing technology offering individual attention is key to breaking through to teachers. In fact many times this yields some very positive results since teachers tend to feel proud of the work they have accomplished. “They are like grown-up-kids – proud to be recognized as experts and eager to help their colleagues” (Teachers as Technology Experts, 1997). As stated in the previous citation teachers are like children in that they feel proud of their accomplishment and this gives them a sense of empowerment. This can prove to be very powerful and beneficial to the process of professional development. “Empowerment of students in learning technology proved to be an attitude that was more important than learning specific skills” (Hadley et al., 2002, p.11). Hadley speaks of students in the teacher education program at Arizona State University. Another valuable strategy that I have found to be very effective is that of creating or identifying teacher leaders in technology. “I can’t say enough about the power of the teacher-as-trainer model. After all, consultants come and go – as I can attest – but teacher-trainers remain in the schools providing ongoing support, encouragement, and expertise” (Cooley, 1998). This is something I plan on continuing in my work developing successful professional development for teachers.

Teachers are not very different than the students they are teaching. Like their students each teacher learns in a different style and sometimes avoiding this can cause many obstacles in the successful implementation of professional development. “Like students, teachers learn at different rates and have specific needs when it comes to acquiring new information and mastering new skills. That means teacher technology training should be flexible, yet cover a comprehensive set of skills” (Tenbusch, 1998). This is very important to keep in mind in planning professional development for teachers. I made a big mistake at the onset of my planning for professional development. I assumed that all of the teachers at my school had about the same skill set and when I began to implement my workshops and I got a disturbing wake up call. “Never assume. There’s always someone who doesn’t know how to use a piece of hardware or software” (Anderson, 2003, p.6). When I set out to plan and deliver technology professional development for my teachers I somehow forgot to remind myself that assumptions cause many problems. Another mistake to avoid is to rush participants in the process, and once again this was something I was reminded at times by my teachers. “The training model sometimes adds insult to injury by rushing the learner through dozens of skills in too short a time, with insufficient guided practice to reach a comfortable level of familiarity and skill” (McKenzie, 2000). I was guilty of this on several occasions and the result was more aggravation and anxiety. One great suggestion that I got from one of my teachers at the beginning of the process was to have teachers give more input as to the topics of professional development. Interestingly enough this is something that both Patricia McGee and Jamie McKenzie state in their research, “…staff development in the information age must come from teacher interest and concerns” (2000, p.209).

One very important factor that I came across in the research out there on professional development for teachers is the idea that informal settings yield better results. I have taken this advice and applied it in my development of the technology workshops at El Sol Academy and the results were positive. “Some of the most effective staff development sessions are informal, occurring during a teacher/media specialist planning session or as part of casual conversations” (Anderson, 2003, p.6). A great deal of the planning and mental probing I had with my third grade partner came as a result of having lunch together. I feel that many of the reasons why I ended up having a positive end result with her technology integration came as a result of the informal setting in which we discussed issues. The more Carolina, my third grade partner, asked me about possible ways to integrate technology the more comfortable she became with helping other teachers. In this case she accepted an informal leadership role among her colleagues. “As teachers acquire skills they will help each other and increasingly solve their own problems” (Anderson, 2003, p.6). There were many instances during a professional development session in which Carolina took it upon herself to go around and help other teachers with questions they had. She felt more comfortable in doing this since we had spent time during One-on-One sessions with her to address the same issues. She was now a “teacher-trainer” as Cooley mentioned in his article. “Informal support systems, partnerships, teams, and collaborative structures might be the most effective elements in a broad-based change effort” (McKenzie, 2000). The thing that impacted me the most about this quote is the factor of collaboration. The more I observed my teachers collaborating in the workshops the more I was reminded that collaboration of this type is closely related to constructivism, and that is something I wanted to achieve with the workshops. “The classroom becomes an authentic constructivist classroom, with students solving their own technology problems” (Hadley et al., 2002, p.11).

My ultimate goal in this research is to provide teachers with the inspiration to change their teaching style to include technology into their daily practice. Why do I want to do accomplish this? I want to do this because I firmly believe that by changing teachers’ practice it will have a positive effect on student learning and performance. The final goals focuses around learning and helping students achieve the very best. “Learning is the goal; technologies are mere delivery systems. The true challenge of professional development is to inspire and prepare teachers to launch these activities with the tools that make sense” (McKenzie, 2000). I don’t want to create a group of teachers that just use the technology available to them to create Word documents and PowerPoint presentations and have them think that they are now “computer-using educators”. I really want to challenge teachers to think outside the box and find a much more creative way to inspire their students to learn. I firmly believe that technology is the key to student learning, but it can only work if teachers are trained in the integration of technology. Otherwise technology just becomes another heavy mallet instead of a useful tool. Using technology inspires me to create wonderful and rich lessons, but transferring that vision in professional development is very hard to accomplish. In “Selling the Dream” Guy Kawasaki speaks of “evangelization” as key to promoting ideas and visions. I am taking this same approach in hopes that teachers will be inspired to use technology as a learning tool in the classroom.

References

• Anderson, M. A. (2003). Creating Tech-Savvy Teachers. School Library Journal. Vol. 49, Issue 2, p6, 2p

• Cooley, V. E. (1998). Technology Lessons: Creating a community of technology users leads to some hard-won realizations. Retrieved July 3, 2004, from http://www.electronic-school.com/0698f3.html

• Futrell, M. H. (2001). Preparing to Teach with Technology. Retrieved July 3, 2004, from http://glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_813

• Hadley, N., Eisenwine, M. J., Hakes, J. A., & Hines, C. (2002). Technology Infusion in the Curriculum: Thinking Outside the Box. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue. Vol. 4, No.1, 2002, pp. 5-13

• Hartzell, G. (2003). Change? Who Me? School Library Journal. Vol. 49, Issue 3, p41, 1p, 1c

• Kawasaki, G. (1991). Selling the Dream. New York: HarperCollins Publishers

• McGee, P. (2000). Persistence and Motivation: A New Teacher’s Path to Technology Infusion. Computers in the Schools. Vol. 16, No. 3/4, 2000, pp. 197-211

• McKenzie, J. (2001). How Teachers Learn Technology Best. Retrieved July 3, 2004, from http://staffdevelop.org/howteacherslearn.html

• Taack Lanier, J. Redefining the Role of the Teacher. Retrieved July 3, 2004, from http://glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_293

• Teachers as Technology Experts. (1997). Retrieved July 3, 2004, from http://glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_385