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While research in the field of education suggests teachers are using technologymore frequently, whether or not this usage occurs at higher levels of integration and inconstructivist settings remains to be seen. For school and district leaders wishing toincrease the use of technology in teacher practices within their buildings, an assessmenttool is necessary for determining needs and prescribing professional development on anindividual basis. With such a tool and in collaboration with leaders, teachers will be ableto reflect upon individual practice, becoming aware of ways to increase technologyintegration while facilitating increased student engagement.The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot a valid and reliable instrumentfor measuring levels of integration within constructivist learning environments as notedby the indicators in the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) model. Developers of theTIM communicated that an instrument for measuring technology usage practicesaccording to the indicators in the Matrix could be useful in helping school leadersprescribe professional development at the individual teacher level. As a result, theTechnology Integration Matrix Questionnaire (TIMQ) was designed to measure levels offrequency for each of the 25 indicators in the TIM.Analyses included the use of expert panels for reviewing the instrument’sdevelopment in order to establish content validity. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test thereliability of the five integration level constructs and the five constructivist characteristicconstructs within the TIM. Parallel forms analysis was used to determine the reliabilityof the two questionnaire items per indicator in measuring the frequency of technologyusage. While these analyses showed the TIMQ to be a highly valid and reliable instrument in terms of measuring the TIM indicators, minor revisions to the wording of afew items and modifications to examples with sensitivity to elementary and secondaryneeds have been suggested.Based on the findings, the TIMQ is recommended for use within schools thatdesire improved integration of technology in student-centered environments. Futurestudies may wish to explore the relationship between the amount of frequency oftechnology usage and teacher professional development or technology access andconnectivity in the classroom. |
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