Technology in Elementary Classrooms



Technology in Elementary Classrooms Monica R. WoodsUniversity Of PhoenixTechnology in Elementary ClassroomsTechnology has been a transformative influence in our society and the world for the last few decades and seems to be showing no sign of slowing down. Although the response is coming at a slower pace at the high school level, integrating technology into the curriculum at the elementary level appears to be even slower. Several things may contribute to the effectiveness of integration. Some examples would include teacher perception, teacher knowledge, teacher motivation, etc. (Hsu, Purzer, Cardell, 2011). In this paper, the connection between teacher perceptions and integrating technology in the elementary classroom is investigated. To locate articles on this topic, I used EBSCO, ERIC, and ProQuest databases. The keywords used to narrow my search included elementary classroom, math, science, technology, engineering, and STEM.Research Problem(s), Questions, and Study Type The problem(s) stated by the authors of this study is that our society has a great need for students to increase technology literacy. Teachers lack knowledge of technology. They have misconceptions of engineering and different perceptions of the engineering and design field as a whole. This has led researchers to the following four questions (Hsu, Purzer, and Cardell, 2011):What are elementary teachers’ familiarity with and perceptions of engineering? Does elementary teachers’ familiarity with and perceptions of DET differ based on their gender?Does elementary teachers’ familiarity with and perceptions of DET differ based on their ethnicity?Does elementary teachers’ familiarity with and perceptions of DET differ based on their teaching experience?The researchers used a quantitative methodological approach to this study by selecting the 192 participants that represented different geographical locations, gender, age, ethnicities, and teacher experience. Data was gathered using the “DET (Design, Engineering, and Technology) survey instruments, designed and validated by Yasar et al. 2006 (Hsu, Purzer, and Cardella, 2011). Researchers administered the DET to teachers prior to any introduction to engineering concepts. Researchers analyzed the responses by, "grouping the participant's responses based on ethnicity, gender, and full-time teaching experience using both the Shapiro-Wilks, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests." This makes it necessary to correct as they explored differences in the groups (Hsu, Purzer, and Cardella, 2011). The results of the entire survey indicate (1) teachers believe DET is important and that it should be integrated into the elementary curriculum (2) teachers believe they lack preparation to teach DET (3) teachers acknowledged they need to change their attitudes about science in order to motivate student to be interested in the natural and technical world (4) teachers rates low on familiarity of DET (5) teachers were neutral on integrating DET in their science curriculum (6) teachers showed no significant difference based on gender, ethnicity, or full-time teaching experience. How Scholarly Literature Supports TopicThe scholarly literature introduced in this article supports the topic in several areas of the study. Several articles used discuss the benefits of integrating technology and engineering concepts at the pre-college level such as Cunningham and Lachapelle, (2010). These authors agree with others on this topic stating that engineering design gives students necessary tools to apply, connect, and improve knowledge in math and science, thus opening the opportunity for students to consider engineering as a career. Purzer, Strobel, and Carr (2011) discuss five states that have engineering written in their state standards demonstrating that this topic is being examined in different geographical areas. National Research Counsel (2011) speaks of the focus on technology and engineering in the framework of science education. Yaser et al. (2006) introduced the design, engineering, and technology (DET) term. Other scholarly literature supported the topic in the methodology used, and the use of research instruments used.Use of this Article to Support My Research TopicI would certainly use this article to support my research topic because it contains data and information that is very close to what I would like to explore. This article identifies the problem and lists research questions that I can refer to in order to form addition questions. This article can also act as a reference point for locating other studies on this topic. I would investigate the other authors cited in this work and evaluate their findings to make sure I’m not duplicating a study that has already been completed. This article could be used as a verifiable, trustworthy resource to support my topic on integrating engineering and STEM concepts in the elementary classrooms because it is peer reviewed contains scholarly recommendations for further study.ReferenceCunningham, C. and Lachapelle, C. (2010). The impact of Engineering is Elementary (EiE) on Students’ attitudes toward engineering and science. Paper presented at the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference, Louisville, KY.Hsu, M. C., Purzer, S., & Cardella, M.?(2011, October).?Elementary Teachers' Viewsabout Teaching Design, Engineering, and Technology.?Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, 1(2) Retrieved?from?, S., Strobel, J., and Carr, R. (2011). Engineering in the National and State Standards. Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Annual International Conference, Orlando, FL.Yasar, S., Baker, D., Robinson-Kurpius, S., Krause, S., and Roberts, C. (2006). Development of a survey to assess K-12 tearchers’ perceptions of engineers and familiarity with teaching design, engineering technology. Journal of Engineering Education, 95(3), 205-216. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download