Secondary content area teachers speak about literacy and technology: Tensions, complexities, conceptualizations, and practices
by Stolle, Elizabeth Joy Petroelje, Ph.D., ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, 2007, 214 pages; 3258046

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to share the details, complexities, contradictions, parallels, conceptualizations, and practices of secondary content area teachers' use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enhance literacy practices and learning. Specifically, the research questions were: How do English, Science, and Social Studies teachers conceptualize the impacts ICTs have on literacy practices and learning? What is the relationship between English, Science, and Social Studies teachers' conceptualizations and their use of ICTs in their everyday pedagogical practices to enhance literacy practices and learning? I used the notions of literacy as a social practice to frame the study and writing as a method of inquiry to analyze the teachers' conceptualizations and practices. Through observations and interviews, I learned the teachers' stories. Within these stories, four tensions emerged in regard to how the teachers negotiate between their conceptualizations and classroom practices: (1) access to ICTs adequate for the task; (2) sufficient levels of ICT knowledge for the task; (3) fear of the unknown; and (4) identification of who benefits form the ICTs and how these benefits can be determined. The conclusions, or major themes highlighted in the teachers' stories, are that: (a) technology seems to be an add-on to support well-established practices, (b) teachers cling to traditional literacy practices, (c) teachers take up and use ICTs and literacy for unique purposes based on their individual classroom contexts, and (d) teachers' tensions limit their ability to envision beyond what they currently see and do in regards to ICTs and literacy.

 
Advisor
SchoolARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 68-03, p. , Jul 2007
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsTeacher education; Social sciences education; Reading instruction; Educational technology; Science education
Publication Number3258046
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» This is an open access dissertation.
  Use the link below to access the full text PDF of this graduate work:
  http://gradworks.umi.com/3258046.pdf
  Use the link below to search and retrieve all open access dissertations:
  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.