ERIC Number: EJ1021477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Mar
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1086-296X
EISSN: N/A
English Teachers' Cultural Models about Technology: A Microethnographic Perspective on Professional Development
Curwood, Jen Scott
Journal of Literacy Research, v46 n1 p9-38 Mar 2014
Prompted by calls for research on technology-focused professional development, this ethnographic case study investigates how teachers' participation in learning communities may influence technology integration within the secondary English curriculum. In this article, I draw on educational psychology, cognitive anthropology, and sociolinguistics to build a theory of teacher learning. I then take a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis to show how teachers' use of language and contextualization cues within a learning community reflects their cultural models, or everyday beliefs, about technology. This study addresses two gaps in the literature. First, it explores the role of situated language in constructing English teachers' cultural models related to technology. Second, it examines micro-level interactions within a professional learning community to understand how teacher learning occurs in social and cultural contexts. The analysis suggests that the implementation of educational reforms, including reforms associated with technology integration and literacy education, is often dependent upon teachers' skills, values, and cultural models.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Discourse Analysis, Ethnography, Communities of Practice, Technology Integration, Educational Psychology, Anthropology, Cognitive Processes, Sociolinguistics, Cultural Context, Models, Cues, Computer Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Context Effect, Educational Change, English Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, High Schools, Qualitative Research, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, English Instruction, Case Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A