Bethany's+Page

Learning Community Assignment

Research Interests
My research interests are open source curricula. The term "open source" uses the creative commons license ([]). The philosophy of "Share, remix, reuse" sums it up nicely. Originally used with software, the philosophy remains the same when you apply it to curricula on Curriki ([]).

1) Teachers and curriculum designers will first share lessons by contributing them for free to the site.

2) Teacher can then use them, change them to fit their students (remix), add to them, make them better. Then add their changes to the lesson on the site so the lessons are in effect, work-shopped through different classrooms and educators.

3) Other teachers reuse them, add to them again if they want and share their changes and the process continues. Lessons become an evolving changing experience instead of a stagnate teachers manual. The experience and expertise of every teacher who touches them is passed on to the community of learners. Education can become a growing experience, contributions add to the knowledge of every participant instead of remaining in your room or within just your circle of colleagues. I find this very exciting and potentially have the ability to make education better as well as save schools money. My research interest in this area is in investigating teacher’s perceptions and willingness to use open source curricula. Using curricula in this way is a big change for teachers. Their lessons for the entire year would no longer be planned for them in a bound manual. Teachers would be able to create them for their grade level or even just for their classroom. Is this something teachers and administrators are willing to try? How can this transition be made? How can schools be convinced this is worth a try with little research having been done in this area? Are teachers interested in having this much control over their lessons? Are schools willing to let them have it? I am also interested in professional development. I plan to find what has already been researched in this area. I am contemplating on exploring the following questions related to professional development: What might be done to make technology professional development more successful? It current practice working, why or why not?

After a literature review, I decided on my second choice for my dissertation topic since there was a clear gap. After looking at the research, it became clear that my first choice had been explored and a gap was not easily explored for a new researcher.

Understanding the nature of research and theory will help us relate our research to those we are studying in a more effective way. We need to understand “what works with one kind of learning task and a particular group of learners may not work with others” (Spector, Merrill, Merrienboer, & Driscoll, 2008). Instructional design and development is a fundamental area that I need to consider in my research. Understanding how it has evolved and changed over the years is crucial in understanding how change was implemented, when that change was successful, and when it was not. Learning what innovators in education did to get teachers to try new things is important to consider. Knowing the instructional design models and principles relate back to how people learn ( Spector et al., 2008). Understanding what people do may not match what people say is an important theoretical foundation to consider when investigating professional development ( Spector et al., 2008). Since the goal of technology training for teachers is to help their students learn in a technology rich environment, we have to make sure what they learn reaches their practice. I also plan to explore further the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or TPACK (www.tpck.org) theory.
 * Theoretical Foundations**


 * Literature Review**

//**1) How are teachers currently being taught in technology professional development?**//

To make sure that my dissertation addresses a gap in the research I need to know what has been done already. Before I can look to see if current practice is working, I need to know what current practice is.

//** 2) How is successful technology professional development currently being measured? **//

In learning about current practice, I need to know if they are measuring technology professional development with pre and post-tests. Are they measuring the success by asking teachers only or are they also observing classrooms. Are they measuring technology use with students or even looking at student test scores before and after training. Understanding these answers will help direct me in my research to know what is happening already so I can look to do what is not or what is proven to work best.

3) //**Have technology professional development opportunities ever been measured when different ability levels are offered?**//

Are teachers always lumped together in one group for technology professional development? Adults who are not confident in their technology abilities might not ask for help if they believe they are the only one. Perhaps grouping teachers into abilities first might improve results. I need to find out if this has ever been studied.

//** 4) Is technology professional development working for teachers? **//

Schools are investing much time and resources into professional development especially in the area of technology. I need to know is it working. If current practice is working, can it be improved upon? If it is not working, what are possible ways it could improve?

//** 5) How do teachers currently rate current technology professional development? **//

What do teachers currently think about technology professional development? Do they think they are learning? Do they think their teaching is better with technology? If teachers do not understand the importance of teaching with technology as a tool, maybe this is the disconnect. If they do understand, maybe it is as simple as confidence or knowing where to go to find ideas. Maybe it could be changed to better fit their needs.


 * What Questions Should We be Asking? **
 * Gap: ** I see a gap in evaluating what makes good technology professional development opportunities for teachers. Often the research focuses on technology as a specific subject. Most evaluate training with teacher surveys and no mention of a change in student performance increase after training. No research was found where teachers were asked to group themselves according to ability for technology professional development. All studies refer to teachers as a single group.


 * Research Questions: ** What makes technology professional development good? What kinds of professional development work with teachers? How often do teachers integrate what they learn? Is there a rubric or standards for what is good? Are standards measured using student learning as the measuring device? What about a teachers technical skills? Do they learn more or less if they are already familiar with the technology used in the training? Do they learn more when allowed to group according to ability?


 * Problem Statement: ** Many studies do not focus on measuring student learning as it related to technology professional development of the teachers (Gaytan & McEwen, 2010) . Most studies focused on teacher satisfaction (Gaytan & McEwen, 2010). No studies were found that allowed teachers to separate into ability groups for remedial or advanced training. This research would evaluate if allowing teachers to separate into ability groups for technology training would increase teacher learning as it relates to student learning.


 * Theory:** Theories used in the studies were the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), the Knowledge Integration Framework, and the Constructivist-Oriented Framework. Two studies used the TPACK and two studies used the Knowledge Integration Framework.

The TPACK theory shows the correlation between content knowledge, technical knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge ( Koehler, n.d.). For effective technology training for faculty, teachers need to relate their current pedagogy with technical knowledge and new content. The Knowledge Integration Framework and the Constructivist-Oriented Framework are both worth considering; it is the TPACK theory that coordinates technical knowledge with a teacher’s pedagogy. The TPACK theory fits best with the dissertation topic.

Methodology

 * **Research Methodology**

Methodologies include grounded theory, case study, factor analysis, experimental, etc. || **Strengths** || **Limitations** || **Authoritative Primary Source for This Methodology** || **Why I Will or Will Not Use This Method** ||
 * **Grounded Theory** || Attempts to combine qualitative and quantitative research, thus giving what is seen as more validity to qualitative research ( McLuhan, 2010). This is done by coding of key words, which provides data in frequency of usage. || Researchers are often confused as to the correct process and often only use parts correctly. It is also criticized for not being visual enough and relying too much on verbiage (Parry, 2004). A limitation of this kind of research would be in the demonstrating of visual data. || Charmaz, K.

Corbin, J. and Strauss, A. || I believe this is the methodology I will use for my research since it fits my research question well and gives me the freedom to fully investigate my research questions. ||
 * **Case study** || Both qualitative and quantitative data can be used, depending on what kind of research questions are asked (Putney, 2010). The researcher can also look at a single or multiple phenomena and help aid in the understanding of those involved (Putney, 2010). || Researcher is the collector of the data and must have high ethical standards when writing up the project ( Aaltio & Heilmann, (2009). || Merriam, S. B.

Jossey-Bass.

Stake, R. E. || The case study methodology is better suited for investigating a few or one person’s experiences. My research is geared more about explaining the actions of many people. I believe eventually, it would be interesting to conduct a case study investigation on the topic of professional development in educational technology. But this is a different angle than I am looking at now. ||
 * **Mixed Method** || Ability to integrate diverse theoretical approaches to research ( Bergman, 2011). Having the ability to link both the qualitative and quantitative methods is especially useful in social and related sciences (Bergman, 2011). || Complicated nature and it is demanding need for researchers to be proficient in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies ( Bergman, 2011). It is also more difficult for research to maintain its focus when using the mixed method. || Bryman, A. ,Unwin Hyman.

Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. || The mixed model methodology is better suited for the seasoned researcher. It is complex and very time consuming. ||


 * **Research Questions** || **Methodology**

You may use the same methodology for each question, or not, depending on the questions you are asking. || **Sample**

You may only have one sample for your study, or several different groups/individuals. || **Data Collection**

Data collection methods include interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, pre-post tests, etc.

If there are multiple forms of data for one research question, list them all. || **Statistical Analysis**

If you are able to provide this, please do so. ||
 * **1.When teachers are grouped according to ability, does this improve what is learned at professional development?** || Grounded theory ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ^  ||^   || Several different groups of teachers from more than one school district || Pre and posttests, focus groups, interviews ||   ||
 * **2. How can professional development be measured using students?** || Content analysis ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ^  ||^   || Several groups of students and corresponding teachers. || Analyzing data such as state test scores ||   ||
 * **3. Do teachers learn more during professional development when they know more about technology to start with?** || Grounded theory ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ^  ||^   || Several different groups of teachers from more than one school district || Pre and posttests, focus groups, interviews ||   ||

Current study related to professional development always concentrates on teachers as one group. My research will propose that if you allow teachers to divide themselves into ability groups, this may change results of the training. Having people in technology training who have different abilities can hamper learning. Beginning learners may feel intimidated by those skilled. They may hold back questions in an attempt to not “look stupid” or to not hold back the group. Advanced learners who are included in training with beginners often feel as if their needs are not met and material they already know is being covered causing them to tune it out. My dissertation will attempt to document if there is a difference in how teachers learn when they are able to choose to attend a beginners learning training session or an advanced learning session. This study could increase the knowledge in educational technology since technology faculty development is a significant concern to administrators and educational technologists. Having teachers separated into ability groups before training has not been researched before and it would add to what is known in professional development. If it helps teacher learning this could inspire others to do the same. If it does not make a significant difference, trainers will know not to worry about trying it. If there is a significant increase in how much teachers learn when separated into ability groups, measured in pre and posttests, this could help change professional development for teachers. It would promote the development of individuals and the educational community.
 * Significance of the study**

** Dissemination of Research **

 * Journals**

//Educational Technology Research and Development//

This peer-reviewed journal accepts research from new researchers and is read globally by those in K12 interested in educational technology.

//Journal of Research in Technology Education (JRTE)//

This ISTIE peer reviewed journal has a smaller audience but they publish original work ( Laureate Education, 2009).

// Journal for Computing Teachers //

This is another ISTIE published journal directed toward those who teach with and about computers. Even though they do not publish research based materials only and this submission would be in addition to another one, my topic fits their audience.


 * Conferences**

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) hosts a conference every year. Since I live in Michigan, I would like to contribute to my State’s endeavors in educational technology. []

The International Society of Technology in Education (ISTIE) would be the unlikely conference goal. To be a part of anything ISTIE does would be a fantastic honor. []

References Aaltio, I., Heilmann, P. (2009). Case study as a methodological approach. //Encyclopedia of// //Case Study Research.// Retrieved October 28, 2011, from __ [] __ Archambault, L., Wetzel, K., Foulger, T., & Williams, M. (2010). Professional development 2.0: Transforming teacher education pedagogy with 21st century tools. //Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education//, 27(1), 4-11. Arnold, S., Padilla, M., & Tunhikorn, B. (2009). The development of pre-service science teachers' professional knowledge in utilizing ict to support professional lives. //EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education//, 5(2), 91-101. Bergman, M. (2011). Mixed methods. //International encyclopedia of political science.// Retrieved October 27, 2011, from []

Gaytan, J., & McEwen, B. (2010). Instructional technology professional development evaluation: Developing a high quality model. //Delta Pi Epsilon Journal//, 52(2), 77-94. Gerard, L., Varma, K., Corliss, S., & Linn, M. (2011). Professional development for technology-enhanced inquiry science. //Review of Educational Research//, 81(3), 408-448. doi: 10.3102/0034654311415121 Koehler, M. (nd). TPACK- technological pedagogical and content knowledge. http://www.tpck.org Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). After the data is collected: Then what? Baltimore: Author.

McLuhan, A. (2010). Grounded theory. //Encyclopedia of Criminologica// // Theory. // Retrieved October 26, 2011, from [] Parry, K. (2004). Grounded theory. //Encyclopedia of Leadership.// Retrieved October 27, 2011, from [] Polly, D. (2011). Developing teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (tpack) through mathematics professional development. //International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education//, 18(2), 83-95. Putney, L. (2010). Case study. //Encyclopedia of Research Design.// Retrieved October 27, 2011, from []

Spector, J., Merrill, M., Merrienboer, J., & Driscoll, M. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed.). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.