Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions and Views towards Instructional Technologies: A Study Based upon Synectic Model

Training well-qualified teachers gains importance in this rapidly changing word. Schools have to train individuals who can adopt the changes and act accordingly. Teachers have a major role to prepare the individuals for the future. The better the prospective teachers are trained, the better they will perform when they work as teachers. In this sense, the opinions of prospective teachers toward teaching profession gains importance. This is a qualitative study in nature. The aim of this study is to explore perceptions of prospective teachers of teaching profession. Prospective teachers enrolled at the departments of Classroom Teaching, Fine Arts Teaching, Turkish Language Education, and Computer and Instructional Technologies were included in the study. Ten prospective teachers in each department were selected as the study group and they were interviewed. Those who were volunteer were included in the study. An interview form was used in the study. The interview form included three semi-structured questions. N-VIVO 8 program was used to analyze the data. Descriptive analysis was utilized to analyze the data. Keywords: Active Learning, Administration of Education, Adult Education, Affective Learning

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Teacher’s Perceptions of Technology Use in the Schools

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/2158244012440813 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 215824401244081 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Marie-Anne Mundy ◽

Lori Kupczynski ◽

Rick Kee

Keyword(s):

Computer Technology ◽

Technology Use ◽

New Technologies ◽

Cognitive Engagement ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Instructional Technologies ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Administrative Functions ◽

Basic Level

Although many schools are equipped with the latest instructional technologies, multiple studies have indicated that more than half of the teachers equipped with computers only use them for administrative functions, and only half of their students report using technology more than once a week. Many faculty members lack the technological proficiency needed to take advantage of these new technologies, making them unable to bring these technologies into the classroom and leading to many standing unused in the classroom. This study analyzes teachers’ perceptions of technology use in the classroom by surveying those who participated in the TeachUp! technology empowerment program created and developed by Digital Opportunity Trust USA, Inc. (DOT USA). The results show that teachers who were part of DOT USA’s TeachUp! program perceived a significant increase in the areas of student engagement, student excitement, student acceleration of learning, and student proficiency with computer technology. The analysis has indicated that faculty members need not only to learn how to use technology at a basic level but also to learn how to integrate that technology into their curricula. In addition, newer teachers from digital native generations must be taught how their acquired skills can be used to integrate technology into the classroom curriculum to provide complex cognitive engagement for their students. It is essential that the role of the teacher as a professional in the classroom not be discounted when evaluating classroom curriculum development and strategy, including those that would integrate various technologies.

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