Angela Christopher Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education, Health and

Human Sciences

Announces the Final Examination of

Angela V. Christopher

for the degree of

Doctor of Education

April 4, 2014 at 2:00 pm

320 Ball Hall, University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

 

Biographical Sketch

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art Education, University of Memphis

Master of Arts in Teaching, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, University of Memphis

Advisor Committee

Clif Mims, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, Committee chair

Deborah Lowther, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Susan Nordstrom, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research

Catherine Wilson, Ed.D., Associate Director, Center for Research and Innovation in STEM Teaching and Learning

Major Field of Study

Instructional Design and Technology

Period of Preparation:  2009-2014

Comprehensive Examination Passed: September 2013

Common Core State Standards and Technology Integration: A Study of Teachers’ Experiences after Professional Development

 

Abstract

Common Core is its infancy and there is much unknown about what it means to change teaching practices to achieve the new standards. Implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represents a fundamental shift in the way teachers provide instruction. The standards were designed to emphasize rigorous content and disciplinary practices that required higher order thinking, depth of knowledge, and adaptive application at each grade level. Expectations for high quality, student-centered technology integration were also embedded within the standards. The purpose of this research was to examine the perspectives of K-8 teachers after professional development and their experiences changing instructional practices for CCSS and technology integration. This phenomenological study was guided by three research questions: 1) How do selected teachers perceive their professional development experiences for common core state standards and technology integration? 2) What instructional practices are the selected teachers changing after attending professional development? 3) What are the experiences of selected teachers when they implement Common Core State Standards and technology integration?

Participants were recruited via purposeful sampling. They were employed as K-8 teachers in the school system of study, had taught for a minimum of one year, and had attended at least one Common Core and one technology professional development in the 15 months prior to recruitment. Five teachers participated in the study. Their experiences, perceptions of professional development and subsequent instructional practices were explicated through phenomenological data analysis of semi-structured in-depth interview text. The investigation provides insight into 1) how perceptions of professional development were situated within the teachers’ instructional practices, 2) the authentic experiences of the teachers as they shifted their practices in response to the demands of CCSS, and 3) how teachers responded to and implemented technology integration during the transition to Common Core Standards. The implications of this research will inform those who work to change the instructional practices of teachers with the intent of improving student learning. Specifically, this study may be of interest to state and local leaders as well as professional development planners/presenters, who are interested in the transition to CCSS and integrating technology.