Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hare, Dwight

Date of Degree

5-8-2004

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Secondary Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Abstract

Despite research which found that using technology in teaching is beneficial to students, few teachers continue to use technology in their instruction. The research literature addressed four barriers to technology infusion by teachers: lack of tools, time, training, and support. Many teachers do not have the equipment to implement technology into their instruction and do not have the time to learn technology skills as well as implement technology into their lessons. Many teachers lack the training to use technology in their instruction and also lack the support from those in the school to infuse technology in their instruction. A case study of teachers in a small rural school was conducted to examine their change of instruction when they were provided the opportunity to use technology in their instruction by participating in a project which addressed the barriers to technology infusion. Throughout a three year period, the researcher collected data to assess technology integration by the teachers through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The teachers? instruction changed very little. To the teachers, the purpose of the project was to create lesson plans. They seemed to see the project as a burden rather than as an opportunity improve their teaching. The conclusion drawn from the case study was that the barriers addressed in the literature were not the only barriers to technology infusion by teachers. One barrier to technology infusion by these teachers seemed to be their confusion about the purpose of the project. Another barrier for these teachers was their lack of acceptance of the project staff who they considered to be outsiders. The teachers also seemed to lack the motivation to change their teaching which seemed to be a barrier for technology infusion as well. It is recommended that administrators who would like to see technology used in instruction choose teachers for a project such as this who want to change their teaching. It is also recommended that future projects present the project as an opportunity for change in their instruction. It is also recommended that future projects build positive relationships with the participants.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18333

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