From the University to the Elementary Classroom: Students’ Experiences in Learning to Integrate Technology in Instruction

This study employed qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate effective approaches to technology integration in teacher-preparation curriculum, incorporating credential coursework and field placements. The study emphasized collaborative efforts among colleges of education and K-12 districts, implementation of technological innovations within the context of the school reform, and the role of technology in cultivating students' higher-order learning faculties. The findings of the study revealed a peripheral role of technology in teacher preparation experience, insufficient students' exposure to technology integration, positive shift in student attitudes toward technology use, and the pivotal role of mentor teachers in technology integration at the field placement sites. ********** Improved integration of technology in K-12 instruction has become a national imperative in the United States. Numerous state and federal governmental bodies have adopted legislation supporting the use of computers and the Internet as a tool to improve academic achievement (see International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2002; California Commission on Teacher Credentialing [CCTC], 2002). However, even with the latest emphasis on technology, many public school districts are faced with an unwelcome surprise. After spending millions of dollars to connect their schools and their students to the Internet, their newly installed computers often sit unused. A key factor constraining effective use of technology in schools is teachers' limited expertise in the professional use of computers (Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology [PT3], 2002). Traditional teacher-preparation programs have not adequately provided preservice teachers with either effective models of technology use or sufficient experiences with technology integration in their professional education courses (Brown, 2003; Smerden et al., 2000), thus lending support to the views of many (Rowley, Dysand, & Arnold, 2005; Waddoups, Wentworth, & Earle, 2004) that preservice programs are falling short in the area of educational technology. There is a broad range of prior research documenting technology integration in teacher education (Adamy & Boulmetis, 2006; Best, 2002; Brown, 2003). However, most existing research addressing this topic focuses primarily on documenting changes in the way faculty use technology throughout credential coursework. The current study expands these findings by delineating the connection between the university and K-12 classrooms, thus attempting to shed a new light on preservice teachers' experiences in all aspects of teacher-preparation program, including field placements. INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION The concerns about integrating technology in preservice teacher education are well-documented in the literature. In a summary report that examined a number of meta-analytic studies, Brown (2003) concluded that the educational system has done an inadequate job of "empowering teachers to appropriately and effectively use computer-related technology in the classroom" (p. 3). Similarly, many researchers have voiced concerns that preservice teachers see minimal modeling of effective instructional strategies that incorporate technology into their professional education courses (see detailed discussion in Brown, 2006). Various grant programs such as Preparing Tomorrows Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) were developed to address these concerns by assisting future teachers to use technology for optimal learning and achievement. The PT3 program goal was to affect 600,000 teachers through 441 grants during the four years of the program, which ended in June 2003 (Market Data Retrieval, 2004). PT3 grantees developed goals, models, and tools that supported this national initiative. Numerous instructional technology studies reported on key findings that emerged from the PT3 related research (Adamy & Boulmetis, 2006; Best, 2002; Waddoups, Wentworth, & Earle, 2004). …