A Strategy for Technology Training as Part of a Master’s Program Conducted at a School Site
Abstract: This case study evaluates a field-based strategy for training in-service elementary teachers to use technology that involved a course taken by a cohort of students in an on-site M.A. program in Curriculum and Instruction. Teachers identified topics of interest and, in teams, taught one another both computer and technology integration skills. Data were collected including beginning-of-course and end-of-course professional development plans and self-assessments, plus post-course focus group meetings. Prior to the course, teachers' predominant uses of computers were largely peripheral to their subject matter instruction. By the end of the course, teachers began applying many of the introduced technology integration skills to their teaching. The most frequently mentioned means for further professional development in technology was learning from fellow teachers. The paper discusses the significance of these and other findings regarding the overall strategy of giving teachers substantial responsibility for their collective professional development.
Presider: Tinukwa Okojie