The Study

In this study, Associate Professor Yong Zhao and his colleagues take on the complex process of classroom technology integration. For a year, the researchers followed a group of K-12 teachers who attempted to carry out technology-rich projects in their classrooms. The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the conditions under which technology innovation can take place in classrooms.

Findings

The teachers in the study were selected from more than 100 recipients of a technology grant program for teachers in Michigan. The study found nearly a dozen salient factors that significantly impact the degree of success of classroom technology innovations. Each fact fit within three interactive domains: the teacher, the innovation, and the context. In terms of the teacher, the researchers found three factors contributed significantly to the success of classroom technology innovation: technology proficiency, pedagogical compatibility, and social awareness. Technology proficiency means than the ability to use a piece of hardware or software, but also have an understanding of other technologies and conditions that enable the use of the hardware and software.

Pedagogical compatibility deals with the degree of consistency between a teacher's pedagogical practices and the technology to be implemented by the teacher. The closer the fit between the technology and the content and pedagogical style, the better the odds of successful implementation. On the issue of social awareness, the study found that those teachers that were savvy about the social aspects of their school culture were more likely to implement their projects successfully. The researchers also found that some innovations appeared much more difficult to implement than others because they tended to deviate substantially from the status quo, and rely heavily on other people and resources. The third domain that had a mediating effect on the success of technological innovations was the context in which such innovations took place.

The authors found that the level of human and technological infrastructure and social support was central to success or failure. All three of the domains were not equal in importance. The teacher was the most important. "That is, when the teacher was strong, the projects seemed to have a better chance to succeed, even with innovations that exhibited a high degree of distance and dependence and lean-than-supportive contextsÉ" In the end, Zhao and his colleagues point that teachers need to know the affordances and constraints of various technologies, how to utilize them, the enabling conditions of the technology they plan to use, and that its integration requires support from others. "The findings from this study point out serious problems with the current efforts to prepare teachers to use technology. Most of the current efforts take a very narrow view of what teachers need to use technologyÉ Given these findings, we argue that teachers should take an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary approach to change. It is likely that teachers will experience more success and less frustration if they take small, but progressive steps toward change."

What It Means To You

As the research shows, turning teachers into islands onto themselves in relation to technology innovation is a recipe for failure. How effective is your district in supporting teachers both in terms of technology and organizational help? Does your district help teachers develop their knowledge about technology and, equally important, the social and organizational support available through the district?

For More Information

Zhao, Y., Pugh, K., Sheldon, S. & Byers, J. (2002). Conditions for classroom technology innovations. Teachers College Record, 2(2), ??-??