Dissertation

A Mixed Methods Comparison of the First Principles of Instruction in Flipped and Face-to-Face Technology Integration Courses

Hall, Jacob A

2018

Overview

This dissertation examines the impact of the First Principles of Instruction (FPI) model when applied to face-to-face (F2F) and flipped technology integration courses. Through this investigation, I demonstrate how the FPI inform the design of problem-centered environments, their impact on participants’ technological, pedagogical, content knowledge (TPACK), and the essential aspects of experiencing these FPI-based courses. Using an embedded quasi-experimental mixed methods design, the quantitative analyses of pre- and post- TPACK outcomes were examined and related to the interventions’ mechanisms via the descriptive phenomenological analysis of participants’ course learning experiences. Participants were 32 preservice teachers enrolled in the second of three required technology integration courses during the 2017 spring and fall semesters. Data included surveys, technology-integrated lesson designs, prompted course reflections, and semi-structured interviews. In the flipped group, preservice teachers’ self-perceptions of TK, PK, TCK, TPK, and TPACK statistically significantly increased and had large effect sizes. Except for TK, the F2F group’s self-perceptions of all TPACK domains statistically significantly increased with medium to large effect sizes. The non-significant growth in the F2F group’s TK, an unexpected outcome of a technology integration course, was illuminated by the qualitative analysis. Participants’ experiences unique to the flipped section indicated that exposure to new technologies prior to the physical class contributed to their increased perception of TK. As for application of TPACK to technology-integrated lesson designs, both groups demonstrated statistically significant growth with large effect sizes (F2F p = .000, d = 1.17; Flippeda p = .000, d = 1.97). The magnitude of the results strongly demonstrates the FPI’s positive impact on TPACK-related learning outcomes in the F2F and flipped courses. Further analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between groups’ perceptions and application of TPACK. These non-significant differences suggest the FPI were equally effective when applied to designing flipped and F2F courses. The phenomenological analyses revealed that the participants experienced technology integration often in class and noted the importance of purposefully selecting and using technologies. Participants described learning new technologies in the course as proceeding from practicing technological skills to evaluating digital tools’ potential for future integration. While iterative component tasks were experienced by some as redundant, participants valued the problem progression corollary’s task variation and scaffolded nature for focusing their learning and keeping them confident when challenged. Experiencing incongruous moments between design and implementation prompted participants’ contemplations of persisting barriers to technology integration and appraisals of in-class experiences as designed for the ideal. The FPI-based elements experienced by participants, when viewed through the perspective of constructionism, facilitated preservice teachers’ TPACK construction as they designed and shared tangible artifacts with an authentic audience. The study’s implications endeavor to inform future approaches to technology integration preparation, directions for FPI-based research and design, and the development of TPACK measures.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Blended Learning / Data Analysis / Educational Environment / Educational technology / Flipped Classroom / Instructional Design / Learning Activities / Learning Theories / Literature Reviews / Outcomes of Education / Preservice Teachers / Teacher education / Teacher Educators / Teaching Methods
• ISBN: 9780438458642, 0438458648