Changed Perceptions of Teachers and Administrators on Professional Development after Implementation of a One-to-One Technology Initiative

摘要

As technology prices continue to decline, access to devices has become less of a barrier, and public schools are able to implement one-to-one initiatives easier (Ruggiero & Mong, 2015; U.S. Department of Education [USDOE], 2016; Zheng, Warschauer, Lin, & Chang, 2016). It has become vital to support teachers in the area of professional development, but oftentimes these programs have failed to prepare teachers for technology integration (Hunter, 2015; USDOE, 2016). The purpose of this study was to identify key aspects of professional development teachers and administrators have found to be of the utmost value when implementing a one-to-one initiative to further the development of future professional development programs. An online survey was sent to school districts known to have been implementing a one-to-one initiative for a minimum of three years. The population included five public school districts in the southwest Missouri area, and the sample was comprised of 16 administrators and 33 high school teachers. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and to provide a statistical summary of the survey findings. A Mann-Whitney U Test was performed to analyze nonparametric values. This causal-comparative study revealed areas of professional development proven to be the most important when considering a technology initiative as well as differences in perspectives, visions, and values found amongst administrators and teachers. The findings of this study further revealed the importance of creating professional development programs to meet the needs of teachers in accordance to their individual levels of knowledge, thus requiring a differentiated approach to future professional development practices.