Personal Information

Address pharvey@ureach.compharvey@ciafe.org

Education Ed. D. Educational LeadershipBowie State UniversityBowie, MDM. Sc. Curr. & Instruction, 2005 George Mason University, Fairfax, VirginiaM. A. Education, 2000, Trinity College, Washington DC M. Sc. Plant Biology, 1994 University of the West Indies, St. AugustineB. Sc. Agronomy, 1989, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

TECHNOLOGY IN URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

by

Dr. Phyllis Harvey-Buschel

July 29, 2009

Significant Studies

Teacher Experience

Grove, K., Strudler, N., & Odell, S. (2004). Mentoring toward technology use: Cooperating teachers practice in supporting student teachers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 27(1), 85-110.

Hazzan, O. (2003). Prospective high school mathematics teachers’ attitudes toward integrating computers in their future teaching. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35(2), 213-225.

Wright, V. H., & Wilson, E. K. (2007). A partnership of educators to promote technology integration: Designing a master technology teacher program. Education, 128(1), 80-87.

Professional Development

Becker, H. J. (1999). Internet use by teachers: Conditions of professional use and teacher-directed student use. Teaching, Learning, and Computing: 1998 National Survey. Report #1. Irvine, CA: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations.

Christensen, R. (2002). Effects of technology integration education on the attitudes of teachers and students. Journal of Research on Technology Education, 34(4), 411-434.

Technology

Barron, A. E., Kemker, K., Harmes, C., & Kalaydjian, K. (2003). Large-Scale research study on technology in K-12 school: Technology integration as it relates to the national technology standards. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35(4), 489-508.

Norris, C., Sullivan, T., Poirot, J., & Soloway, E. (2003). No access, no use, no impact: Snapshot survey of educational technology in K-12. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36(1), 15-27.

TitleTechnology Integration: A Quantitative Examination of Factors that Impact

Technology Integration in UrbanPublic Secondary Mathematic Classrooms

IntroductionAdvocates for the application of technology in U. S. schools would

like teachers to move beyond the use of computers for simple tasks such as drill and practice to new applications like the use of multimedia, and as a research and problem solving tool. This emphasis on integration has not yielded adequate achievement results because many teachers do not frequently utilize technology for instruction. This is because teachers’ ability to integrate computer technology effectively depends on their own knowledge about technology and the access they have to technology. The lack of knowledge has resulted in computer use most often in computer classes and not in core academic subjects such as math and science. This study analyzed teacher access to technology and its impact on technology integration in mathematics instruction in urban public secondary classrooms. The findings from this research highlighted the need for continued dialogue on this topic by refocusing attention on technology integration in urban public mathematics classrooms.

Methodology

The study used a causal-comparative research design. In this design the researcher determines the cause or the reason for existing differences in groups or individuals. In a causal-comparative research the participants are already in groups prior to the study and therefore they are not subject to manipulation.

Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the two sample means for differences and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to determine statistical significance using an alpha level of 0.05. Spearman rho correlation was used to determine the magnitude and direction of any relationship.

Data for urban public secondary mathematic teachers was retrieved from National Center for Educational Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) questionnaires for 1999-2000 school years. Variables that represented teacher experience, professional development and availability of computer technology were extracted from the SASS dataset.

Findings:

Teacher experience had no effect on technology integration in urban public secondary classrooms. There was no difference between novice, experienced and veteran teachers and technology integration in mathematics instruction. The results for professional development indicated that teachers who participated in professional development showed significantly different (p≥ 4.77) use of computer technology for instruction and instructional activity (p≥ 5.91) in mathematics. The number of computers in a classroom significantly influenced (p≥ 37.28) technology integration in mathematics instruction in urban public secondary classrooms. The number of computers available in a classroom influenced technology integration in the mathematics instruction in urban public secondary classrooms. Teachers who have more computers in their classroom integrated technology more frequently in mathematics instruction.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Providing access to technology is important for integration in mathematics instruction. Effectiveness of technology cannot be determined if access is limited. Recommendations from this research are that urban public schools need to develop an appropriate plan for technology use, schools should focus on providing mathematics teachers with computers and that professional development is needed to use the technology in mathematics instruction. Additional research should be conducted using most recent data and a qualitative component to see whether utilization of technology in mathematics instruction has changed in public urban secondary schools. Research should also focus on how technology integration is linked to improved students outcomes in mathematics.