lra 2016 professional development

“It’s Not Pixie Dust”: Professional Development as a Means of Enhancing iPad Initiatives in Secondary Schools ERIN E MARGARELLA, PH.D.ASSISTANT PROFESSOR SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATIONSCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY JANUARY 2, 2016

Introduction

A Fusion of Theories

• Written policy is read and interpretted by leaders and stakeholders

• Transactions occur• Indiviudal meaning is created

Transactions with Text

• Staholders interact to implement policy

Shared Interactions • Socially co-constructed

meaning is created • Policy is impemented as socially interpretted

Action

Research Question

How is information regarding the use of iPad technology for literacy disseminated to three High School English teachers within a Catholic School system?

Collective Case Study

Similarities Differences

(Stake, 1995, 2003; Yin, 2003)

Primary Participants

General Data Collection Methods

12 Week Collection Period Primary Participant

Interview (2 hours of interviews for each teacher) Interview 1: Establish

inductive themes based on research questions

Interview 2: Organized based on inductive themes thus far

Artifacts Reflective Field Notes Observations

(approximately 45 hours per teacher) 4-5 day per week Single 50 minute class

period

Inductive Path of Inquiry- Secondary Participants

Setting

Technology Catholic High School Central Florida Student Population of 720 Teaching Faculty: 60 Average Class Size: 24 Cost of Attendance: $11,540 per academic year

Analysis

Inductive Analysis (Hatch, 2002) Ethnographic Content Analysis Development of Findings (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009)

Results

Themes

Implementation of the DeviceEvaluation Improving Current Practice and Moving

Forward

Professional Development

• Varying ability levels for technology integration•Professional Development presented as tool to enhance instruction

• Differentiated professional development and mentorship initially offered

• Largely deemed successful by teachers and leadership

• PD often cancelled • Other campus issues presented as more pertinent• One-size-fits-all approach

Pedagogical Significance

Rationale clear to stakeholders, but not connected to pedagogy Remaining Competitive Without initiative, they may “cease as a school” Resulted in frustrated teachers and technology leaders

“It’s not pixie dust. You can’t just throw pixie dust all over the classroom because we now all have these iPads and say “GO!” No, you have to really take the lead as an educator and you have to train them, you have to have the professional development and if you don’t, you go in half heartedly , you will fail.”

Pedagogical Significance

Fractured Ownership Among Teachers “We were told that this is what we were doing” –

Isabelle “We are required to integrate them into our

curriculum” – Aura “I’m not really sure where this started”- Lola Administrative Dependency “I wish they would just tell us what to do”- Aura

Pedagogical Significance

Confusion regarding implementation Teachers could only

partially articulate the learning goals associated with iPads

Devices in the hands of students

Competing Organizational Priorities Superficial Classroom

integration School website “The iPad

as a common platform and device for all learners ensures equity, promotes 21st century learning, and enhances best practices for teachers”

Impact on Literacy Instruction

Impact on Literacy Instruction

Impact on Literacy Instruction

Impact on Literacy Instruction

Future Research

Multimodal Tablets- opportunity for expansion (Kress, 2003; Hutchinson & Reinking, 2011)

Need for connections between Practice and Goals Differentiated Professional Development

Reduce Incidence of Superficial Technology Integration

Support development of strategies related to secondary reactions to introduction of the device (i.e. classroom management)

Summary and Conclusions

-Initiative lacked established expectations for implementation

-Overly focused on remaining competitive compared with remaining pedagogically connected -“Pixie Dust” approach -Superficial Integration Resulted -New classroom difficulties

- Ongoing and differentiated professional development needed

Questions, Comments, and Suggestions

Contact

Erin E. Margarella, Ph.D.  Assistant Professor  Secondary English Education  School of Teacher Education  Western Kentucky University  1024 Gary A. Ransdell Hall  270-745-3589 Erin.Margarella@WKU.edu