Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Peter Kiriakidis

Abstract

Middle school teachers at a school district integrated digital media into the math and literacy curriculum by using programs such as Success Maker and Reading 180 in the classroom. Teachers received training on best practices for integrating digital media in their teaching. No research had been conducted to examine the experiences of these middle school teachers with the integration of digital media into the curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to address that gap. The research questions focused on teachers' outlooks on digital media as a teaching tool and the instructional strategies they used. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Bandura's social cognitive theory because students may achieve higher levels of academic achievement through the integration of digital media into the curriculum. Purposeful sampling was used to select 6 urban public regular middle schools teachers who taught either math or language arts and had integrated digital media into the curriculum. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Archival documents on the school district's digital media use were also examined. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed strategies that literacy and math teachers used to individualize instruction, make instruction relevant to students, and integrate digital media throughout their lessons on a daily basis. Study findings may offer insight on instructional strategies that middle school math and literacy teachers may use to integrate digital media into the curriculum. Such knowledge may help students at this school pass standardized tests and graduate.

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