Teacher Perspectives on Technology Integration Professional Development: Formal, Informal, and Independent Learning Activities

摘要

This mixed-methods study examined the technology integration learning activities of four teachers throughout one year using weekly quantitative surveys and a series of three qualitative individual interviews. Through the teachers' own voices an illustration of their learning processes is presented, and the gap between what is supported by their school and the activities they engage in becomes evident. Because their learning needs about technology integration were insufficiently supported through formal learning opportunities, these teachers augmented these activities with informal and independent activities. These types of activities, while reported as beneficial by the teachers and composing a high percentage of their learning time, were largely unsupported by the teachers' school. This finding of how teachers form interrelated systems of formal, informal, and independent learning activities can assist schools in creating more effective learning programs that better align to the ways in which teachers learn how to integrate technology into their instruction.