The Repository @ St. Cloud State

Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

5-2019

Culminating Project Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Educational Administration and Leadership, K-12: Ed.D.

Department

Educational Administration and Higher Education

College

School of Education

First Advisor

Roger Worner

Second Advisor

Kay Worner

Third Advisor

James R. Johnson

Fourth Advisor

David Lund

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Abstract

Abstract

While understanding and implementing technology integration in the education setting has significantly improved in the past few decades, little has been done to formulate a research-based best practice model that will follow a set of standards maintained by ISTE. Integration can be most successfully achieved through following a set of standards established by The International Society for Technology in Education - Standards for Educators. According to Ertmer (2015), teachers are expected to enrich teaching and learning, despite a number of barriers that impede them such as lack of training, staff support, and hardware and software access. These continue to be issues for many teachers. Moreover, a teacher's belief in technology and their past experiences play a pivotal role in integrating technology into lessons, Ertmer (2015).

An examination of technology research in Minnesota displayed that one of the problems encountered by secondary school classroom teachers is the integration of technology into their teaching. Because school districts continue to experience barriers to technology integration, understanding those barriers and being able to develop a plan to address them will provide teachers with the support required to become more effective in their use of technology.

The purpose of the study, in a select sample of Minnesota school districts, was to examine the relationship between teachers’ self-reported technology competency, their ratings of the frequency, and quality of technology usage, in supporting their teaching, and the quality of the technology professional development they received. Furthermore, study respondents were requested to identify types of professional development that would increase their usage of technology in the teaching process and the barriers to technology integration in their schools and school districts. The following research questions were designed to support these aims:

  1. How did select Minnesota teachers rate their level of technology competency based on ISTE standards?
  2. How did select Minnesota teachers rate the frequency of their use of technology in supporting their teaching?
  3. How did select Minnesota teachers rate the quality of their use of technology in supporting their teaching?
  4. What did select Minnesota teachers rate as their level of need for further/additional technology professional development?
  5. What did select Minnesota teachers identify as the types of professional development that would increase their usage of technology in the teaching process?
  6. What did select Minnesota teachers identify as barriers to the integration of technology in their schools and school districts?

Prior to the leaders of school districts and individual schools considering adopting 1:1 technology programs, it would be advisable that a number of issues be weighed before adoption, including current staff knowledge and usage of technology, professional development needs, and potential barriers that may affect successful adoption.

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