Shifting Teachers Toward Student-Centered Practices: Struggles and Successes With Technology-Rich Professional Development

• In Event: Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Nurturing Professional Development in New Environments

Abstract

The integration of technology into the middle-grades classroom can enable shifts towards student-centered instructional practices. Professional development can facilitate these pedagogical shifts. In this mixed-methods study, we evaluated and examined the influence of a professional development program based on the values of student-centeredness and meaningful technology integration. We used teacher responses to a survey on practices and interviews with extreme cases to illuminate why practitioners did or did not shift towards student-centered methods. Results indicate that teachers who showed negative results tended to focus on the technology elements of the professional development, while those who showed gains used the professional development context to continue shifts towards responsive practices that were already underway. Implications for professional development programs are considered.

Author

• Mark W. Olofson, The University of Vermont