Teacher Beliefs and Their Influence on Technology Use: A Case Study
In this article, the authors describe a case study approach used to examine the complexities and contradictions of ways teachers perceive and implement technology in a seventh-grade social studies class. The participants in this qualitative research study were a 13-year veteran social studies teacher and the student intern who worked with this teacher during a year-long professional development school experience in a culturally and economically diverse middle grades school. Using interviews and classroom observations, the authors portrayed the beliefs and practices of the two participants in relation to their views of technology and its uses in the classroom. The findings support and deepen current literature and suggest that, although teachers believe that technology can be used to help engage students in thinking critically to promote self-regulated learning and improve literacy skills, such beliefs do not always come to fruition in actual classroom practice.