Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Gloria Jacobs

Abstract

Teachers integrate technology to make the learning environment interactive and appealing to students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of teachers at one high school working to integrate technology into instruction following participation in professional development. Guided by Dewey's constructivist theory and Mishra and Koehler's technological pedagogical content knowledge model, this study explored teachers' perceptions of pedagogy and technology integration following participation in professional development and the strategies they used to overcome barriers to integrating technology. Twelve purposefully selected high school teachers from English, social studies, mathematics, science, electives, health education, and special education provided triangulated data in the form of interviews, lesson plans, and classroom observations. Through the qualitative coding and analysis process, emergent themes were developed. Teachers suggested that professional development for technology integration should benefit the learning environment, be relevant to course content so that teachers can make connections to real-world learning experiences, and that there should be consistent follow-up training. Findings suggested that teachers have limited access to hardware and software and lack time to develop technology-rich lesson plans, and students lack technical skills. The implications for this study include that district and school administrators should plan and implement relevant professional development, assess the needs of teachers through effective communication, and identify additional resources or training to help teachers who struggle to integrate technology.

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