Conceptual/Theoretical Framework

Ravitch & Riggan (2012)

In order to have a clearer understanding about conceptual/theoretical framework, which is a key part of a research design, I've been reading a book called Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research by Sharon Ravitch and Matthew Riggan. I think it's a great book for me to have a clearer understanding of what theoretical framework is, why it's important and how it supports a research study. In the first chapter, the authors discussed the definition of theoretical framework and addressed heavily on Maxwell's definition. Maxwell (2005) used the terms conceptual framework and theoretical framework interchangeably, whereas Ravitch and Riggan (2012) defined that "conceptual frameworks are comprised of three primary elements: personal interests, topical research, and theoretical frameworks" (p. 10). I really like the three components of the conceptual framework cause it can remind me to think about not only the motivation of doing a study, but also the importance of asking myself the so what question and exhibit the linkage and the relationships among topics I want to explore and different components of theories and knowledge in literature. Therefore, I would like to develop a conceptual framework for my big question based on Ravitch and Riggan's definition and explanation of conceptual framework.

First of all, my big question is changed based on the feedback from my colleagues last week. I modified my big question from "How does technology influence teachers' teaching practice?" to "How can we assist teachers in developing technology adoption abilities?" My personal interests were addressed at the beginning of my previous blog post,  My Big Research Question...So What?. Basically, my personal interests and research interests were integrated together. My motivation for looking at how we can help teachers in technology adoption was generated from my education background and my current teaching experiences. From my experiences of being a preservice teacher in a teacher education program and now being an instructor of a technology integration class for preparing future teachers, I believe that teachers' role is especially important and impactful in teaching and learning. Moreover, the there is an unavoidable trend of technology integration in all kinds of learning environments with a great deal of evidence showing that appropriate technology integration in teaching and learning foster student learning. These personal and research interests informs the importance of investigating teachers' technology integration in practice and helping teachers be more proficient in technology integration.

I have some research topics in mind that I would like to study on in order to answer and support my big questions. Specifically, I would like to put my focus on inservice teachers in my research cause they have more direct influence in teaching and learning than preservice teachers. My research topics include:
1) an investigation of current K-12 teachers technology use in practice, comparing novice teachers with expert teachers,
2) an investigation of the formats and content of professional development in technology integration based on inservice teachers' needs,
3) an investigation of how teachers can grow their professions from social media learning communities in order to suggest a framework of appropriate and effective approaches to professional development in technology integration for K-12 teachers.

This semester, I have started 2 literature reviews. The first one is about the process of being from novice teachers to expert teachers in technology integration and the second literature review is about different types and effectiveness of professional development in teacher technology integration. For the novice to expert literature review, I investigate the definition of novice and expert as well as the process of being a novice to an expert in general. And then, I am looking at specifically the development and critical elements involved from novice teachers to expert teachers in technology integration. The following are the literature that I would like to include as the supportive framework in this topic:

• Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
• Westerman, D. A. (1992). Expert and novice teacher decision making. Journal of Teacher Education, 42(4), 292–305.
• Leinhardt, G. (1989). Math lessons: A contrast of novice and expert competence. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 20(1), 52–75.

For the professional development literature, I include the following key articles as my theoretical framework:

• Desimone, L. (2009). Improving Impact Studies of Teachers’ Professional Development: Toward Better Conceptualizations and Measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), pp. 181–199.
• Lawless, K. A., & Pellegrino, J. W. (2007). Professional development in integrating technology into teaching and learning: Knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and answers. Review of Educational Research, 77, 575–614.
• Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K. (2001).What makes professional development effective? Analysis of a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 915–945.

In order to have a more robust conceptual framework for my big question, I think I may include the important literature about teachers' role in technology integration, technology integration having positively influence learning (motivation, learning outcomes, engagement), also the role of social media in teachers' professional learning.



Reference:

Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Ravitch, S., & Riggan, M. (2012). Reason & rigor: How conceptual frameworks guide research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Review of "Use of Mobile Devices to Foster Inquiry-Based Learning: A Case of Exemplary Teachers"

Summary

This case study includes six exemplary teachers' teaching experiences of using mobile devices in their inquiry-based instruction. The investigation in this case study was about those teachers' perception and definition of using technology in inquiry-based instruction, different approaches of using mobile devices in IBL, as well as the recommendations for the best ways of mobile devices implementation in their inquiry-based classrooms.

Overall Feedback

• You did a great job in the literature review with valuable citations from big names for definitions in different domains. I really like the way you structure the whole paper and the information you provided in the paper. It's clear and easy for me to read and understand. 
• In the abstract, you stated that the findings of this research show that teachers' perception toward using mobile devices into the inquiry-based instruction is positive" (p. 1). However, when I see the title of this paper, I would assume the findings related to teaching and learning would be positive just because the participants in this study are exemplary teachers. For instance, you mentioned that the participants were early adapters of technology use for inquiry-based instruction, so I won't be surprised to see the first finding that those exemplary teachers are flexible risk-takers when using technology in their IBL instruction.
• By quickly looking through your research questions and the findings, I can clearly see the headings in your findings clearly addressed on your first two research question. However, I would expect a heading in your findings directly related to the recommendations from the teachers for the best ways of using mobile devices in IBL. 

Questions

• Since you used inquiry-based mobile learning (IBML) in your paper a lot, do you think it would make any difference in IBML while using various mobiles devices with different functions and features? E.g. using iPhones or iPads in inquiry-based learning.
• I think having teachers' interviews as the only data source in this study is the main limitation in this study. You did address this limitation in the data collection and analysis section, I wonder whether you would feel the recommendation or the implication of this study would be weaker because of this limitation. I would like to know more about your thoughts and how you think about or deal with this kind of limitation.
• In the teachers' interviews, did most of them talk about some specific mobile devices that they use in their IBL instruction?

Feedback for Ya-Huei's Research Study

Research Title: Preservice Teachers' Learning Experience From Case-Based Instruction In A Technology Integration Cases

Summary: 
The main purpose of this research study is to understand preservice teachers' perception of case-based project and their learning experience in case-based instruction. There are some preliminary findings in this study as well as implications for future studies on the emphasis of developing preservice teaches' problem-solving and decision-making competencies.

Questions I would like to ask:

1. What is your role and intention in this research study? Are you in a role as an instructor who wants to find out whether your case-based instructional approach is effective or as a researcher who is looking for what is going on in this case?

2. How did you develop your theoretical or conceptual framework? How did you frame or structure the concept of case-based learning and case-based reasoning in your research study?

Feedback:

• I think if there's a big picture with clear description of case-based learning, case-based reasoning, and case libraries at the beginning of your paper, that would really help your readers to have a good understanding of what you are aiming at and have distinctions among those terms.  
• In the literature review, I think you have a pretty good explanation on the term "case-base instruction" and "case-based reasoning", but probably you can also have a paragraph talking about how the elements (case-base learning, case-based reasoning, scaffolding, from novice to expert) interact or relate that informs the importance of what you're looking for in this study. 
• Provide a thorough research context and the method you used, and why. Probably you can also include the timeline you put on the AECT poster in your data collection part. Sometimes visual representations helps readers understand easily.
• You can have appendices with your interview questions and field notes for readers who wants more information for your data collection and data analysis. 
• Between your results and implications, you could have a discussion or conclusion section to recapture the importance of your research study as well as the meaning of your research results. Try to see whether your research results resonate the literature. 
• Add the limitation of this study. 

  

My Big Research Question...So What?

My big research question is "How does technology influence teachers' teaching practice?"

Since I was a undergraduate student in a teacher education program in Taiwan, I had been educated and prepared to be an elementary teacher who knows about content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge and skills in order to be a good teacher in practice. Right now, I teach an undergraduate level course for preparing preservice teachers with basic technological knowledge and skills to provide effective teaching practice in their future classrooms. During the time, the ways people think and learn have been changing because the advent of technology. Therefore, since how people learn has changed, I believe that how teachers teach should be changing as well in order to benefit learners in education based on their needs. Also, I believe that teachers are the group of people who play an important role in education and affecting students' learning outcome.

Using technology in education has been a popular research topic in educational field in recent decade. Moreover, technology integration in classrooms has been proved to be an effective way to support students' learning. At the early stage of technology integration research, U.S. Congress (1995) found that the lack of technology resources has been one of the main factors that a lot of teachers were reluctant to use technology in their teaching.  Years later, Hixon and Buckenmeyer (2009) and Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) still found that effective technology integration is not completely happening in practice even though the availability of resources and support is increasing due to some concerns and barriers teachers encounter (Ertmer et al., 2012; Hew & Brush, 2007). Therefore, lots of research studies have investigated in how to support and improve teachers' technology integration by improving the quality of teacher preparation program for preservice teachers and providing teachers professional development for inservice teachers.

With this background and context of technology integration in education, I believe it is important for me to keep investigating the topics such as how teachers use technology in practice currently, what teachers' needs are regarding technology integration, and how technology can support teachers' teaching as well as professional learning. By studying on these topics, I will have a better understanding about how technology influences teachers' teaching practice in different ways and then explore the supportive and effective professional development for technology integration and professional growth. Eventually, and hopefully, the ultimate goal and purpose of education - enhancing students' learning and improving students' performance, would be fulfilled by the change of teachers' teaching practice with the support of technology.




Resources:

Ertmer, P.A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A.T. (2010). Teacher technology change. How knowledge, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 221-251.

Ertmer, P., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., Sendurur, P. (2012). Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship. Computers and Education, 59(2), 423-435.

Hew, K. F., & Brush, T. (2007). Integrating technology into K–12 teaching and learning: Current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55, 223–252.

Hixon, E., & Buckenmeyer, J. (2009). Revisiting Technology Integration in Schools: Implications for Professional Development. Computers in the Schools, 26(2), 130.

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. (1995).Teachers and technology: Making the connection (OTA-EHR-616). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.