Classroom technology integration: A comparative study of participants and non-participants in the 21st Century Model Classroom program

Abstract

This study provided a unique opportunity to examine how two groups of teachers experienced the integration of technology in a K-12 school system in the southeastern United States. The total number of respondents (n=338) included 21st Century Model Classroom (CMC) program teachers (n=27) and non-participants (n=311). Teachers in the 21st CMC program were given advanced technology equipment and relevant professional development. The non-participants received less training and had limited access to advanced technology equipment. Guskey's (2000) "Five Levels of Professional Development Evaluation" was combined with technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) (Harris, Mishra, and Koehler, 2009) to create a survey for comparing the two groups. Cronbach's (1984) "alpha measurement" of internal consistency revealed an alpha score of .911 for the questionnaire; hence, the quantitative survey was found to be highly reliable. Many similarities were found among the respondents. However, significant differences were found on nine of the forty-four quantitative survey items. Effect size measurements were also calculated for those nine items. Open-ended survey items yielded rich qualitative data. More than two-thirds of all respondents surveyed were positive about their access to professional development and technology equipment. They were equally optimistic in their overall beliefs about integrating technology in the classroom. The data and the views of the teachers provided exclusive information for improving instruction through technology integration. Keywords: quantitative, qualitative, professional development, technology integration, collaboration, constructivism, teacher beliefs, engagement, leadership