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.