Mobile professional development: Taxonomic levels of learning on teachers' TPACK perceptions and acquisition of technology competencies
Abstract
As it stands, the integration of technology can be advantageous for teachers, students, administrators, and parents, yet teachers are expected to teach and facilitate learning with new technologies in order to prepare students to succeed in a global economy. As the Part D of the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001 (Part D - Enhancing Education Through Technology, n.d) states, one of its purposes is to “enhance ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing constant access to training and updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means,” one of its goals is to “encourage effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development.” Additionally, with the number of mobile devices continuing to increase, schools employing initiatives such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) that encourage the use of mobile devices in teaching and learning, and the benefits of technology integration on student learning, to provide a 21st century education using technology remains a problem across American schools. At the frontline of preparing and equipping teachers with the training and support needed to increase knowledge and skills, and their impact on attitudes and beliefs (Bandura, 1977, 1994, 1997) is professional development (PD). However, PD often lacks any form of assessment making it difficult to understand what participants really learned. The purpose of this study was to examine and report the impact of mobile professional development (MPD) taxonomic rigor on in-service teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards technology and technology integration and performance on a standardized knowledge and skills assessment on Technology Applications. This study developed a MPD course and designed 3 taxonomic treatment conditions to examine how question-rigor impacts Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge attitudes and beliefs, and performance on a Technology Applications and Competencies assessment. The rationale for this study is the need to understand how a new mode of PD (i.e., MPD) and taxonomic rigor influences teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards technology and performance on a knowledge and skill performance assessment. This quantitative study used a modified experimental design to randomly assign 40 in-service teachers to one of three taxonomic treatment conditions. 29 participants yielded complete data. Participants began with a pretest measuring TPACK attitudes and beliefs and knowledge and skills on technology applications, completed the MPD, and completed with taking a posttest. Using an analysis of covariance, this research found increased mild gains in competency and dispositional scores. However, there was no statistical significance in participant gains across the three treatment conditions. Furthermore, the participants contributed to several additional items in their assigned conditions and admitted to the acquired skills in being able to integrate technology into their lessons as a way to express their creativity and heighten their interest in the subject matter. This research contributes to the literature on assessing PD, design issues in MPD, and assessment outcomes of MPD.
Subject Area
Educational evaluation|Teacher education|Educational technology|Curriculum development
Recommended Citation
Saldana, Raul, "Mobile professional development: Taxonomic levels of learning on teachers' TPACK perceptions and acquisition of technology competencies" (2015). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI3708564.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI3708564