Teacher Concerns and Attitudes During the Adoption Phase of One-to-One Computing in Early College High Schools
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Date
2008-05-16
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Abstract
Ubiquitous computing has opened new opportunities for teaching and learning, and is transforming school learning environments. The popularity of one-to-one computing has been increasing rapidly, with more and more schools adopting this initiative. However, studies on past one-to-one initiatives have raised concerns over the proper adoption of technology into classrooms. To ensure successful implementation of a change generating initiative like the computing initiative, schools should ensure buy-in and readiness of the stakeholders, especially the teachers. Understanding the teacher's beliefs and attitudes towards technology, and addressing the teacher concerns is a critical step in ensuring the successful implementation of technology integration.
The purpose of this basic qualitative study is to understand the beliefs, attitudes and concerns of Early College High School teachers towards one-to-one computing, and their use of computers in classrooms during the early adoption phase of the one-to-one computing initiative. The study was guided by the following research questions: What prior experiences do the teachers bring to one-to-one computing? What are the teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and concerns towards one-to one computing? What support do the teachers need during the adoption phase of the computing initiative? Data were collected using in-depth interviews and a focus group, and data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. The data analysis revealed that while teachers had a positive attitude towards the one-to-one computing initiative and its impact on students, the pedagogical beliefs differed among them. Also, a number of teacher concerns surfaced related to hardware and software support, professional development, classroom management, communication, and personal anxieties. Some implications for practice include: need for developing a communication plan; restructuring of professional development to meet core curriculum technology standards and teacher specific concerns; and on-going research to provide formative feedback during all phases of the implementation with respect to the goals of the one-to-to-one computing initiative for the schools.
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Adoption Phase of one-to-one computing, Teacher attitudes, beliefs and concerns, Early College High Schools
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Degree
MS
Discipline
Curriculum and Instruction
