Formal Change Processes and Informal Teacher-Initiated Change Processes: A Longitudinal Case Study of Technology Integration at an Elementary School
Although teachers and students in nearly every classroom have access to technology, for various reasons many teachers are unable to integrate technology successfully into their classroom instruction. The primary purpose of this longitudinal, qualitative case study was to investigate how formal change processes and informal teacher-initiated change processes facilitated technology integration at a small, private school in the southeastern United States. The change processes investigated were (a) formal professional development (b) informal job-embedded professional development, (b) informal communities of practice, and (c) informal teacher leadership. The secondary purpose was to investigate changes in teaching that resulted from technology integration at the study school. The participants were six teachers who taught grades three, four, and five and the principal, all of whom worked at school during the first six years of technology integration, when the data were collected. Interview were collected from teachers in 2008, 2010, and 2011 and from the principal in 2011. All interview data were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method and utilizing the ATLAS.ti coding program. The findings indicated that the change process to integrate technology was initially facilitated by the principal through the formal professional development she made available to teachers. Technology integration was then sustained and driven forward by the informal teacher-initiated change processes. Based on the data from each round of teacher interviews, teachers were located on two scales, the Stages of Concern and the Levels of Use (Hall & Hord, 2006), that gauge progress during a change process. These scales showed steady progress for all six teachers. Positive changes also occurred regarding teaching and learning. The teaching environment transformed from one in which technology was occasionally used to one in which technology was used extensively, students were more engaged, classrooms became student-centered, and teachers could better differentiate learning.
Job-embedded Professional Development, Elementary Education, Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM), Professional Development, Teacher Leadership, Communities of Practice, Educational Technology
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