| dc.description.abstract | The need of professional development for improving the use of technology integration in the classroom evolves continuously as technologies change and develop, and students and instructors follow new tendencies. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a professional development system (PDS) on instructors’ self-empowerment to integrate technology into their practice. This study used mixed methods: triangulation design in order to acquire diverse but complementary information of the same phenomenon. Quantitative data collection involved 56 HE instructors from Lima, Peru and used pre-post questionnaires based on TPACK and UTAUT instruments, Solomon four-group, and SPSS version 22 for analysis. Qualitative data collection involved 28 participants and observations, interviews, one-on-one mentoring, instructors’ journals created during EL Training, and exit evaluations with Atlas.ti 8.0 software for analysis.
A three part theoretical framework guided the design of the PDS. This enables the PDS to offer more opportunities to make the learning process sustainable because it is comprised of three components: (a) Experiential Learning Training delivered face-to-face and online, (b) Application and Feedback to encourage transfer, and (c) Ongoing Support for Continuous Improvement instead of just one workshop or isolated component.
The findings of this study expanded the work of previous researchers in the area of professional development models. The qualitative data in the study revealed that PDS created an ecology for sustainable learning that allowed participants to be empowered to integrate technology in their classrooms. Instructors in PDS changed their teaching attitudes and practices, increased their job performance and furthered their career development, a multifaceted change that depends on a multifaceted learning environment. Additionally, the quantitative data determined that participants in the Professional Development System group (Treatment) scored significantly higher in their composite average of technology integration scores than the control group (F(1,51) = 65.18, p = .01), while the average main effect Sensitization was not significantly different (F(1,51) = .73, p = .40).
PDS models how instructors could design their classes, serves as a change tool for empowering instructors to integrate technology into their practice to improve the learning environment, and supports continuous improvement, life-long learning and collaboration. | en |
