Year of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Degree Name

Educational Leadership

Department or School/College

School of Education

Committee Chair

Frances L. O'Reilly

Commitee Members

Patty Kero, John Matt, William P. McCaw, Ryan R. Schrenk

Keywords

web 2.0, web 2.0 tools, blog, wiki, social media, content and learning management systems, science teachers, Montana public schools

Abstract

Web 2.0 tools are part of the 21st century school, and are essential elements to teachers in the classroom as our students today are part of the digital generation (Prensky, 2001). Web 2.0 tools offer the instructor the ability to design the learning environment to focus on collaboration and a facilitation of content knowledge (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). This study investigated the use of web 2.0 tools in the largest 14 high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more, and identified relationships that influenced the integration of the tools into the science classroom. Montana science teachers use diverse web 2.0 tools for teaching and learning in the classroom, blogs, wikis, podcasts, social media, and electronic learning management systems.

A quantitative research design was implemented and the survey instruments were replicated with permissions from previous similar research of Pan, (2011). A statewide survey of science teachers in the 14 largest high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more was conducted. Thirty-five teachers responded to the research inquiry and of the 35 participants, 31 completed the surveys completely. All of the completed surveys were used in the multiple regression analysis between the dependent variable The Web 2.0 Tools Integration survey and the independent variable in The Web 2.0 Tools Self-Efficacy survey instrument. Within The Web 2.0 Tools Self-Efficacy instrument, six independent variables were explored for their correlation to the dependent variable: age, years teaching in the classroom, access to web 2.0 tools at school and home, using computers for teaching, and average hours of computer use for teaching per week. The results indicated that science teachers in the 14 largest high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more rarely use web 2.0 elements in the classroom for teaching. Although, this study identified the importance of professional development, and school administrative support with teacher’s self-efficacy for integration of web 2.0 elements into the classroom.

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© Copyright 2013 Robert DoBell