The purpose of this study was to investigate five middle school English teachers' understandings of literacy and technology. In particular, how do they define literacy, view literacy and technology learning and teaching, and how do they use (or not use) technology to enact their views of literacy in their classrooms. This narrative inquiry qualitative study consisted of three open-ended interviews, written literacy narratives, and multiple classroom observations with each participant as well as the collection of various teacher documents, such as lesson plans, presentation notes, rubrics, and student handouts. Narrative methods were used in the data analysis. ^ Findings were organized across a continuum of literacy understandings from traditional understandings to new conceptions of literacy. Discussion and implications pointed to the need for an expanded definition of literacy with pre-service and practicing teachers that addresses the complexity of multiliteracies and multimodality. There was also a need for extending pedagogical repertoires of pre-service and practicing teachers to recognize TPACK as a beginning to multiliteracies as well as adopting a pedagogy of design, and incorporating critical literacy into instruction. Finally, pre-service and practicing teachers must be afforded the opportunity to conduct their own action-research to develop their knowledge base for teaching.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate five middle school English teachers' understandings of literacy and technology. In particular, how do they define literacy, view literacy and technology learning and teaching, and how do they use (or not use) technology to enact their views of literacy in their classrooms. This narrative inquiry qualitative study consisted of three open-ended interviews, written literacy narratives, and multiple classroom observations with each participant as well as the collection of various teacher documents, such as lesson plans, presentation notes, rubrics, and student handouts. Narrative methods were used in the data analysis. ^ Findings were organized across a continuum of literacy understandings from traditional understandings to new conceptions of literacy. Discussion and implications pointed to the need for an expanded definition of literacy with pre-service and practicing teachers that addresses the complexity of multiliteracies and multimodality. There was also a need for extending pedagogical repertoires of pre-service and practicing teachers to recognize TPACK as a beginning to multiliteracies as well as adopting a pedagogy of design, and incorporating critical literacy into instruction. Finally, pre-service and practicing teachers must be afforded the opportunity to conduct their own action-research to develop their knowledge base for teaching.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Boche, Benjamin A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Curriculum & Instruction","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Melanie Shoffner","Janet Alsup","Jennifer Richardson","Kathryn Obenchain"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-10-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-10-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:47Z","subjects":["Technology of Education","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/232","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Melanie Shoffner","Janet Alsup","Jennifer Richardson","Kathryn Obenchain"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Boche, Benjamin A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum & Instruction"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Technology of Education","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Teacher Education and Professional Development"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/232"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to investigate five middle school English teachers' understandings of literacy and technology. In particular, how do they define literacy, view literacy and technology learning and teaching, and how do they use (or not use) technology to enact their views of literacy in their classrooms. This narrative inquiry qualitative study consisted of three open-ended interviews, written literacy narratives, and multiple classroom observations with each participant as well as the collection of various teacher documents, such as lesson plans, presentation notes, rubrics, and student handouts. Narrative methods were used in the data analysis. ^ Findings were organized across a continuum of literacy understandings from traditional understandings to new conceptions of literacy. Discussion and implications pointed to the need for an expanded definition of literacy with pre-service and practicing teachers that addresses the complexity of multiliteracies and multimodality. There was also a need for extending pedagogical repertoires of pre-service and practicing teachers to recognize TPACK as a beginning to multiliteracies as well as adopting a pedagogy of design, and incorporating critical literacy into instruction. Finally, pre-service and practicing teachers must be afforded the opportunity to conduct their own action-research to develop their knowledge base for teaching.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring literacy and technology with middle school English teachers: Articulating understandings of knowledge and teaching practices"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Melanie Shoffner","Janet Alsup","Jennifer Richardson","Kathryn Obenchain"],"dc:creator":["Boche, Benjamin A"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to investigate five middle school English teachers' understandings of literacy and technology. In particular, how do they define literacy, view literacy and technology learning and teaching, and how do they use (or not use) technology to enact their views of literacy in their classrooms. This narrative inquiry qualitative study consisted of three open-ended interviews, written literacy narratives, and multiple classroom observations with each participant as well as the collection of various teacher documents, such as lesson plans, presentation notes, rubrics, and student handouts. Narrative methods were used in the data analysis. ^ Findings were organized across a continuum of literacy understandings from traditional understandings to new conceptions of literacy. Discussion and implications pointed to the need for an expanded definition of literacy with pre-service and practicing teachers that addresses the complexity of multiliteracies and multimodality. There was also a need for extending pedagogical repertoires of pre-service and practicing teachers to recognize TPACK as a beginning to multiliteracies as well as adopting a pedagogy of design, and incorporating critical literacy into instruction. Finally, pre-service and practicing teachers must be afforded the opportunity to conduct their own action-research to develop their knowledge base for teaching.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/232"],"dc:subject":["Technology of Education","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"dc:title":["Exploring literacy and technology with middle school English teachers: Articulating understandings of knowledge and teaching practices"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum & Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:47Z"}