The Nature of University-Led Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Professional Development: A Multi-Perspective Phenomenological Study

摘要

The use of technology has become customary for many faculty teaching in institutions of higher education. And, many institutions provide professional development (PD) for integrating instructional technology into the classroom. But, research shows that many PD opportunities emphasize the use of specific technology tools and are inefficient at teaching faculty how to approach technology integration that is particular to their discipline. The objective of this study was to explore instructional technology administrators' lived experiences creating technology-integration profession development opportunities for education faculty and education faculty's experiences participating in these opportunities. The rationale for this study emanates from the researcher's aspiration to create PD opportunities for education faculty that enhance the effectiveness of their teaching.;This study utilized a qualitative transcendental phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of instructional technology administrators and education faculty. The central question to guide this study was the following: Using the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, what are instructional technology administrators' lived experiences on creating technology-integration professional development opportunities for education faculty, and what are education faculty's lived experiences engaging in technology-integration professional development?;Purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used for selecting three instructional technology administrators and eight education faculty. The primary data collection method was an in-depth interview; supportive methods included non-participant observations and document analysis. The data were coded through initial and focused coding. Through analysis and interpretation, data were organized into themes that emerged in the data.;This study revealed many experiences associated with creating and engaging in technology-integration PD. These experiences showed that PD is created for large audiences and covers broad topics; however, education faculty are interested in support for a specific task. TPACK professional development is infrequent. However, based on the one-to-one nature of support that is often given to education faculty, there is potential to offer TPACK PD in alternative settings outside of the traditional large-group environments. Recommendations are offered for instructional technology administrators, university leaders, and further research opportunities. Given the various resources available in each instructional technology department, the recommendations put forth should be considered for its appropriateness on an individual university basis.