Teachers' Beliefs and Technology Practices: A Mixed-methods Approach
Deniz Palak
New York Institute of Technology
Richard T. Walls
West Virginia University
Abstract
In a sequential mixed methods design, we sought to examine the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their instructional technology practices among technology-using teachers who worked at technology-rich schools to ultimately describe if change in practice toward a student- centered paradigm occurred. The integrated mixed-methods results provide evidence for the following: (a) teachers use technology most frequently for preparation, management, and administrative purposes; (b) teachers’ use of technology to support student-centered practice is rare even among those who work at technology-rich schools and hold student-centered beliefs; (c) teachers in technology-rich schools continue to use technology in ways that support their already existing teacher-centered instructional practices. We conclude that future technology professional development efforts need to focus on integration of technology into curriculum via student-centered pedagogy while attending to multiple contextual conditions under which teacher practice takes place. Future technology research must use mixed methods and consider teachers’ beliefs if change in practice is the desired outcome.
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Contributors
Deniz Palak, EdD, is an assistant professor of the Master of Science in Instructional Technology Program at New York Institute of Technology. Her professional interests have been in the areas of designing and evaluating teacher professional development for technology integration, conceptual understanding of the curriculum, and self-examination of teacher pedagogy. She is a graduate of West Virginia University.
Richard T. Walls, PhD, is a professor of educational psychology as well as the director of the International Center for Disability Information. He teaches courses on learning, instruction, and memory at West Virginia University. He has received awards for outstanding teaching from the College of Human Resources and Education and from WVU, as well as the Distinguished Scholar award at WVU. He has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters on learning, training, and vocational rehabilitation.
Contact
Deniz Palak
New York Institute of Technology, School of Education,
Wisser, Library, Northern Blvd., Old Westbury, NY, 11568;
Email: dpalak@yahoo.com
Richard T. Walls
College of Human Resources and Education, 806 Allen Hall,
PO Box 6122, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6122;
E-mail: Richard.Walls@mail.wvu.edu
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