Tondeur et al. (2017) focuses on a popular topic within technology integration literature: new teacher practices. The premise of the article focuses on the use of technology from new teachers and the strategies that come from teacher preparation institutions. Prior research points to hindrances and resistance from beginning teachers for a multitude of reasons including school culture, workload, and tough transition to the teacher workforce. As a result, the authors conducted a study to evaluate how technology amongst beginning teachers is being used and how that relates to the strategies introduced in teacher preparation programs. The study focused on three various programs of teacher preparation, all of which had varying approaches on teaching technology integration. Students who participated in these courses were followed up with two years after through a phone interview with 16 participants, narrowing to 6 as the primary focus of the study. The authors found that the teacher preparation programs played a pivotal role in the use of technology among beginning teachers. As a result, the authors recommend institutions make a stronger effort to address connections between technology, content, and pedagogy, key components of TPACK.

The use of interviews was a strength of this study as it provided the necessary context to understand links between teacher preparation programs and how technology was used amongst teachers three years into their careers. Further, individuals’ perspectives of teacher preparation programs are often different as a result of contextual factors which are only able to be identified through qualitative methods.

I found this article to be insightful for my research interests. Beginning teachers often struggle with integration as a result of teacher preparation programs and this is a sentiment I not only share but have seen first hand among teachers within my own school district. However, this study sparks a few new questions for me regarding technology integration resistance and hindrance. For example, what are the impacts of teaching preparation programs with stand alone courses compared to programs where technology practices are integrated into pedagogical courses. I also wonder what role professional development plays in mentoring programs among experienced and beginning teachers in promoting technology integration. Finally, I would like to look at commonalities of factors that impede beginning and experienced teachers from technology integration and how to address these obstacles to promote more blended environments.

Sources
Tondeur, J., Pareja Roblin, N., van Braak, J., Voogt, J., & Prestridge, S. (2017). Preparing beginning teachers for technology integration in education: Ready for take-off?. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 26(2), 157-177.