A K–6 District's Use of Mobile Devices Research Study

• In Event: 26.080 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 26.080-4 - The Current Landscape of Mobile Technology Integration in a Diverse County

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify the range of teacher practices and student activities and outcomes using mobile technology, and to help district administrators identify areas in which teachers need additional support. The Framework for 21st Century Learning, developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) was useful for the present study because one of the district’s stated goals for using mobile technology is to advance students’ development of 21st Century Skills. Researchers specifically referred to the list and definitions of 21st Century Student Outcomes, and coded observation data to determine which of these outcomes were being addressed by teachers and/or achieved by students in the focal classrooms.

The study examined how, in the second year of the district’s iPad initiative, the use of mobile devices is affecting teaching and learning in district classrooms. Researchers focused on the following questions:

1. What approaches and practices are teachers using with the technology?
2. What types of activities are students doing with the technology?
3. Do student activities seem to support content learning and/or other academic goals developed by the teacher?
4. Which teacher goals, approaches, and practices are associated with different student learning outcomes?

Four classrooms were selected representing differences in school Title I status, student grade level, and teacher levels of experience with mobile technology in the classroom. Student experience with iPads in the classroom was kept constant. After each data collection period, researchers used qualitative data analysis software to code and analyze the data collected through observations and interviews. Data from each case study were also analyzed comparatively with data from the other three case studies to inform how differences in teachers’ prior iPad teaching experience, as well as their unique classroom contexts, affected their approach to teaching with mobile technology.

Findings from the study revealed the following:
1. Veteran teachers want “proof” that using iPads will enhance learning in tangible ways.
2. Teachers’ sense of urgency and commitment to time-on-task strongly affects their decisions about if, when, and how to use iPads, as well as the student outcomes observed.
3. Using the tool well results in better teaching. Teachers demonstrate different levels of technological and pedagogical knowledge in different content areas.
4. iPads are supporting the development of the “4 Cs” and other 21st Century Skills in the humanities but not in math in the district.
5. Teachers report that professional development resources are available but challenging to access because they require use of personal (and unpaid) time. Teachers suggest that they learn most from protected and sustained opportunities for collaboration with other teachers.
6. District administrators’ priorities for the pedagogical transformation to be spurred by mobile technology include blended learning, project-based learning, and differentiated instruction. Teacher practice suggests a need for continued clarification of and support for these goals.

This study highlights the importance of the need for accessible professional development for teachers and evidence of success in mobile technology initiatives and practice.

Authors

• Maria Kelly Horsley, University of San Diego

• Andria Shook, University of San Diego