Teacher Concerns During Initial Implementation of a One-to-One Laptop Initiative at the Middle School Level

Many schools are initiating projects that place laptop computers into the hands of each student and teacher in the school IJjese projects entail a great deal of planning and investment by all involved. The teachers in these schools are faced with significant challenges as they prepare for teaching in classrooms where every student has a computer. Using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of change, this study investigated the concerns of teachers in the early stages of a one-to-one laptop initiative. The results of the study indicate that teachers fall into two relatively well-defined categories in terms of their concerns regarding the innovation. Ihe majority of teachers have genuine concerns ahout hoiv the introduction of laptop computers into the school environment will impact them personally. A lesser number have comrrns ahout how they will be able to best use the laptops to meet the needs of the students. Implications for professional development include dijferentiating training based on teacher concerns, ensuring teachers have a voice in the process and are well-informed of decisions pertaining to the adoption, and implementation of the innovation. INTRODUCTION At a time of nationwide emphasis on school improvement, the role of educational technology continues to be a much-debated topic at the school, district, state, and national levels. While some would argue that the introduction of technology into schools changed education, others would suggest that the appearance of the classroom changed, but many of the activities remain the same (Cuban, 2002; Richardson & Placier, 2001; Sandholtz, mngstaff & Dwyer, 1997; Tyack, & Cuban. 2000). One-to-one laptop programs are being initiated widi ever increasing frequency in K-! 2 schools in the United States and abroad. These represent significant investments that necessitate substantial evaluation of the rationale, goals and outcomes of each initiative. A number of these initiatives have been rejxirted Lipon and have provided useful information regarding goals and outcome data such as student achievement, attendance and attitudes (see for example, Anderson & Dexter, 2003; Lowther, Ross, & Morrison, 2003; Silvernail & Lane, 2004). However, we know from prior research on innovation adoption that successfiil implementation is deeply rooted in an understanding of the concerns of the individuals delivering the innovation (Hall & Hord, 2001). The purpose of this study was to examine one-to-one computing access in the middle school setting from the perspeaive of those being asked to change. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 263 REVIEW OF LITERATURE Aftet five years of examining the impact of technology in education, the CEO Forum formulated the SchoolTechnology and Readiness Report (200\). Key findings included: (a) technology can enhance student achievement in many ways; (b) the impact of technology is greatest when integrated into a curriculum that has clear, measurable objectives; (c) assessment is often not aligned with curriculum, nor is it measuring 21 "-centuty skills; and (d) strategies to measure and improve technology integration in education are few and far between (CEO Forum, 2001). TTiese recommendations were echoed by the Partnership for 21" Century Skills (2002). The partnership believes that educators and educational agencies must stress teaching and learning 2r'-century content, skills and assessments. The introduction of computers into the teaching and learning experience is in many ways acting as a catalyst (or educational change toward a more 21 '̂-century learning environment. One-to-One Computing Access The one-to-one computer access movement began in the 1980s with the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project. ACOT was the first large-scale initiative providing one-to-one access to students and teachers in the K-12 setting. By preparing ACOT project classrooms for digital teaching and learning, the project sought to not only examine, but to promote a changing educational context (Sandholtz, Ringstaff, & Ehvyer, 1997). The Insrructional Evolution Model that resulted from the ACOT study is particularly relevant to the current study. Based on results of the ACOT study, Sandholc, Ringstaff, and Dwyer (1997) proposed that innovation adoption is a process in which teachers will gradually change their teaching based on changing comfort levels with the technology. In a review of literature on one-toone computing, Penuel (2006) reponed that in the majority of studies of laptop implementation, teachers are in die adaptation stage in which they are adapting their existing teacher-centered practices to allow for the integration of the laptops into the learning experience of the students. Additionally, studies of professional development for one-to-one computing initiatives (Rockman, 2000; Sandholtz, RingstafF, & Dwyer, 1997; Silvernaii & Une, 2004; Windschitl &: Sahl, 2002; Yang. 2002) reported that staff development must match the current needs of the teachers. In other words, the teachers current level (or stage) should be a primary consideration when designing and delivering staff development opportunities. One-to-one computing access initiatives have evolved with the changing technology and aim to implement more portable versions of computers into the learning environment. The Microsoft Anytime Anywhere Learning (AAL) initiative was a large-scale example of this type of one-to-one access providing students and teachers with laptop computers. In 1996, like the ACOT project, Microsoft's AAL initiative helped to establish a foundation and starting point for future one-toone computing programs. Reported findings from three years of AAL research by an independent evaluation team included enthusiasm for teaching and learning with technology, improved writing skills across all grade levels, a progression of 264 Spring 2007: Volume 39 Number 3 increasingly authentic and purposeful uses and access to technology, and rdevant to this study, a gradual shift toward constructivist pedagogies (Rockman et al., 1997; 1998; 2000). One-to-one initiatives continue to be implemented across the United States with initial research findings and anecdotal evidence suggesting improved student achievement and overall satisfaction with teaching and learning with laptops. In 2002, Henrico County Public Schools (VA) embarked on the largest scale one-toone initiative in the United States and provided over 25,000 laptops to teachers and students in grades 6-12. Students and teachers were reported as using the laptops in all subject areas for a variety of reasons. In addition, teachers, students, and families considered the laptops to be a positive addition to the teaching and learning experience with improved student-teacher and school-home interaction, increased student self-directed learning, and enhanced student motivation to learn (Zucker & McChee, 2005). In examining existing research on one-to-one laptop initiatives, Apple (2005) reported similar results across many studies. This report compared the impaa of different levels of computer access on student outcomes. Benefits of one-toone access over student-computer ratios of 2:1 and 4:1 included students using computers for a greater variety of purposes and subject areas, improved student writing skill, and enhanced student technology literacy (Apple, 2005). These findings are ftirther echoed by Penue! (2006) in his examination of 30 articles in which laptop computers and wireless Internet access were the focus. Penuel reported that laptop initiatives in the United States and abroad have cited meeting the goal of preparing students for IP-cenmry citizenship, enhancing computer literacy, and showing positive effects on student writing as support for program implementations. As the literature reporting positive outcomes of one-to-one computing initiatives continues to become available, a greater infiux of this form of educational change will likely result. In order for one-to-one laptop initiatives to be sustained, however, it is crucial that change facilitators are aware of teacher concerns. What often happens is that teachers who are going through the change process are rarely consulted on the usefulness of the innovation, yet they are expected to adopt it with open arms (Richardson & Placier, 2001; Tyack & Cuban, 20O0). PURPOSE OF STUDY The purpose of this study was to determine teacher concerns during the introduction of a one-to-one computing access initiative in the middle school setting. More specifically, the question guiding this study was: What are teacher concerns during initial implementation of a one-to-one laptop initiative at the middle school leveli Results of this study can be used by K-12 teachers, school administrators, teacher educators, and professional developers to gain a better understanding of potential challenges faced during initial adoption of a one-to-one laptop program. Additionally, results of this study may be useful to professional developers to align content and delivery of professional development with teacher concerns. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 265 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This study is grounded in a theoretical framework of educational change. Wiersma (1991) su^ested that "conditions under which research is conducted and data obtained within and across studies must be incorporated into a meaningful whole" (p. 19). As a theoretical ftamework, change theory Informs the guiding question of this study Scholars such as Rogers (1983) have provided invaluable descriptions of the change processes and constructs. Others such as Fullan have provided insight into how these concepts impact educational settings (2001). Additionally, Hall and associates developed a change model that is well suited to address the questions posed here (Hall & Hord, 2001). More specifically, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) provides a theoretical framework as well as the tools with which the study was conduaed. Using the CBAM in the current study enabled the research to focus on the key playets in the change process—the teachers. CBAM is unique because it considers change ftom the perspeaive of those implementing the innovations (Heck, Stiegelbauer, Hall, & Loucks, 1981). In particular, this study examined the impact of a changing educational context on the teachers. The CBAM model and diagnostic tools will be more completely described in the following seaion.