Teachers Beliefs and Technology Practices

Palik, D., & Walls, R.(2009). Teachers' beliefs and technology practices: A mixed-methods approach. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41, 417-441.

In the article "Teachers' Beliefs and Technology Practices: A Mixed-methods Approach," the authors, Palak and Walls, focus on teacher practices in implementing and utilizing technology in the classroom. They started with over 138 teachers and surveyed them on their comfort levels and utilization of technology. The authors then chose a group of the teachers to interview and observe in the classroom.

The authors’ findings were unexpected because teachers from supposedly technology rich school systems who considered themselves adept at utilizing technology in their classrooms, failed to utilize most of their technology to its maximum capabilities.They started by observing elementary school teachers who had computers in their classes or free access to computers in their media centers. The authors found that most of the teachers used the computers for “rewards.” If students finished their assignments early, they were allowed on the computers, which kept them quiet. The teachers did utilize some of the software such as Compass, but only after traditional instruction was completed.The authors observed that most teachers used the technology for planning and managing instruction, but instruction that required the students to interact with technology was not visible.

Their suggestion was to develop a professional learning program that modeledapplications in the classroom for student technology usage. I found the authors’ research to be quite thorough. They focused on a school system that had provided the technological resources for its teachers, and then interviewed and observed the teachers during class time.Their research practices were valid and strong. They started by identifying their population by focusing on school systems that were supposedly integrating technology into ins instruction. They then surveyed the teachers on their teaching practices and comfort levels with technology.They then observed the same teachers and compared their responses to their actualutlization of technology in class instruction.

Their findings were realistic - teachers may have the technology available, but they need models to show them different ways to incorporate technology into student driven instruction. In fact, while most of the teachers describe themselves as technologically savvy, they often did not have a thorough understanding of the various means in which to integrate technology in student driven instruction.