AGENCY, IDEOLOGY, AND INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AT A SOUTH KOREAN COLLEGE
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the ways that instructors think about classroom technology and how this might relate to their classroom use of it. This qualitative case study explores the relationship between instructors and classroom information/communication technology (ICT). Specifically, this study followed three native English-speaking English Language instructors at a South Korean vocational college over the course of a semester. Through a variety of data collection methods, many different aspects of the participants’ relationships with instructional ICT were explored. This study focused on participants’ espoused ideas and beliefs about what ICT was, how it was meant to be used, and what it could accomplish in a classroom setting. In addition to interviews, instructors’ actual technology usage was explored through classroom observations.
The findings strongly suggest that instructors’ relationships to instructional ICT are differentiated individually by a number of factors, such as an instructor’s history of learning and teaching with ICT, their understanding of what it is, and what it can and cannot do. By exploring these individual instructors’ perspectives and their use of ICTs in their classrooms, this study makes a case that the educational impact and benefit of ICT should be understood as a result of relationships between instructors and technology, or in broader terms, relationships between humans and machines. Furthermore, it was found that instructors’ relationships with instructional technology can be understood in terms of their ability to reshape it and apply it in innovative ways to accomplish their pedagogical goals. To aid in this understanding, the findings are used to posit, develop, and refine two theoretical constructs, technological agency and ideologies of technology. These are offered as conceptual lenses through which to view one particular aspect of a instructor’s relationship to technology, that of reinterpretation of technological artifacts through the discovery of new affordances. By casting the instructor as the interpreter and employer of educational technology, and the true key to its success, this dissertation stands as a response to deterministic and/or essentialist notions of technology in classrooms.
Table Of Contents
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. viii
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ix
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………. x
Section I……………………………..…………………………………………………… 1
Ch. 1 – Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 1
- Turning to the phenomenon……………………………………………………… 1
- Statement of purpose………….………………………………………………….. 3
- Overview of study………………………………………………………………… 3
- Research
questions………………………………………………………………………….. 4
- Organization of the dissertation……..…………………………………………… 4
Ch. 2 – Review of the Literature………………………………………………………….. 6
- Bringing technology into the classroom………………………………………….. 6
- Teacher cognition, teacher belief…………………………………………………. 9
- Teacher belief and ICT………………………………………………………….. 13
- Teacher cognition and CALL…………………………………………………… 16
- Moving to a theoretical articulation……………………………………..……… 24
Ch. 3 – Conceptual Framework……………………………………….………………… 26
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Technology………………………………………….…….………………..…… 26
- – What is technology……………………………………………………….. 26
- – Turning to affordance…………….…………………………………….… 28
- – Focusing on ICT……………..…………………………………………… 32
- Teacher cognition: Beyond belief………………………………………………. 33
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The conceptual framework…………………….……………………………..… 36
- – Models: Cultural, mental, theoretical…………………………..…………. 36
- – Technological agency……………………………………………….….… 38
- – Ideology……………………………………………..………………….… 41
- – Ideologies of technology………………………………..………………… 44
- – The importance of context………………………………………………… 45
Ch. 4 – Methodology and
Method…………………………………………………………………………..……… 47
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Methodology………………………………………….………………………….. 48
- ……………………………..…………………………………….. 48
- Epistemology…………..…………………………………………………… 49
- Axiology…………….………………………………………………………. 51
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Method………..………………………………………………………………….. 53
- The Pilot…..………………………………………………………………… 53
- Context………………………………………..……………………………… 53
- Participants………………………………………………………………..… 54
- Researcher…………………………………………………………………… 55
- Design………………………………………………………………………. 56
- Tinkerer teacher’s toolkit……..…………………………………………..… 57
- Sampling……………………..……………………………………………… 58
- Data collection……………………………………………………………… 59
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Methods in depth…………………………………………………………………. 64
- Classroom observations….…………………………………………………. 64
- Interviews……………………………………………………………………. 66
- Document analysis…………………………………………………………… 70
- Questionnaire……………………………………………………………..… 70
- Data analysis………………………………………………………………… 71
- Catalytic effect………………….…………………………………………… 73
Section II – The Instructors………………..……………………………………………. 75
Ch. 5 – The Context of Technology Use……………………………………………..… 76
- Namu College……………………………….…………………………………… 76
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The material………………….…………………………………………………… 78
- – Facilities…………………………………………………………………… 78
- – Computer reliability/Security……..………………………………………. 80
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The institutional…………..……………………………………………………… 81
- – Policies………..…………………………………………………………… 82
- – Training…..……………………………………………………………..… 83
- – Email….…………………………………………………………………… 85
- The cultural………………………………………………………………………. 86
- The ICT context of Namu College………………………………………………. 88
Ch. 6 – Hugh……………………..………………………………………………………. 89
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Hugh and ICT……………………………………………………………………. 89
- Personal approach to ICT………………………………………………….… 89
- ICT is……………………………………………………………………….. 91
- Card sorting………………………………………………………………….. 93
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ICT and Teaching………………………………………………………………. 98
- What it means to teach……………………………………………………… 98
- Teaching with technology……………………………………………….… 100
- What ICT can do in the classroom………………………………………… 107
- Drawbacks of ICT……………………………………………………….… 110
- Students and ICT…………………………………………………………… 114
- How ICT is learned………………………………………………………… 119
- ICT and teaching in the future……………………….………………….… 123
- Hugh’s classroom……………………………..……………………………….. 125
- Hugh’s ideology of technology…………………….………………………..… 130
Ch. 7 – Jessie……………………………..………………………………………….… 134
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Jessie and ICT………………………………………………………………..… 134
- Personal approach to ICT………………………………………………..… 134
- ICT is……………………………………………………………………… 135
- Card sorting……………………………………………………………….. 138
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ICT and Teaching………………………….………………………………….. 144
- What it means to teach………………..…………………………………… 144
- Teaching with technology…………………………………………………. 145
- What ICT can do in the classroom………………………………………… 150
- Drawbacks of ICT……………………………………………………….… 153
- Students and ICT…………………………………………………………… 156
- How ICT is learned………………………………………………………… 159
- ICT and teaching in the future……………………….………………….… 164
- Jessie’s classroom use……………………………………………………….… 165
- Jessie’s ideology of technology……………………………………………..… 171
Ch. 8 – Fiona…………………………………………………………………………… 173
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Fiona and ICT…………………………………………………………………. 173
- Personal approach to ICT………………………………………………..… 173
- ICT is……………………………………………………………………… 175
- Card sorting……………………………………………………………..… 177
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ICT and Teaching.…………………………………………………………..… 183
- What it means to teach………..…………………………………………… 183
- Teaching with technology……………………………………………….… 184
- What ICT can do in the class……………….……………………………… 191
- Drawbacks of ICT………………………………………….……………… 194
- Students and ICT…………………………………………………………… 195
- How ICT is learned……………………………………………………..… 197
- ICT and teaching in the future…………….…………………………….… 202
- Fiona’s classroom………………….………………………………………..… 204
- Fiona’s ideology of technology……………………………………………..… 207
Section III – Discussion and Conclusion………………………..…………………….. 210
Ch. 9 – Discussion………………………………..……………………………..…….. 211
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Patterns and points of interest in participant talk……………..……………..… 211
- – Interview themes………………………….……………………………… 211
- – Specific technologies…………………………………………………..… 220
- – Metaphors……………….…………………………………………….… 224
- – Espoused theories-of-action…………..………………………………… 229
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ICT in use……………………..………………………………………..……… 231
- – Technologies employed………………………………………………..… 231
- – Dynamics of use……………………………………………………….… 246
- – Espoused ideas versus use………………………………………………. 250
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Ideologies of technology……………………………………………………… 254
- – Approaches to technology…………………………………………….… 254
- – Consumer ideologies of technology………………………….………….. 258
- – The social construction of technology…………………………………… 263
- – Returning to technological agency……………………………………….. 266
- – The user and the tinkerer: Returning to ideologies of technology………. 270
- Follow-up: Member checking and catalytic validity………………………..… 281
Ch. 10 – Conclusion……………..…………………………………………………..… 286
- Implications…….………………………………………………………..… 286
- Contributions of this dissertation…………………………….…………..… 289
- Future study……………………………………………………………..… 293
- Limitations of study……………………………………………………..… 296
- In closing………….……………………………………………………..… 297
References……………………………………………………………………………… 299
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………..… 308
Appendix A – Classroom technology use survey……….…………………..… 308
Appendix B – Classroom observation guide………………………………..… 309
Appendix C – Administrator interview guide……………………………….… 311
Appendix D – Three-stage semi-structured interviews……………………..… 314
Appendix E – Video cued interview guide…………………………………..… 317
Appendix F – Focus group guide……………………………………………… 320
Appendix G – Follow-up interview guide…………………………………..… 323
Appendix H – Card sorting…………………………………………………..… 326
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1 Turning to the phenomenon
As with the majority of human endeavors, the task of teaching has long been conducted through, augmented by, or otherwise intertwined with, technology in various forms. The advantages technologies could bring to the classroom were heralded throughout the 20th century (Cuban, 1986), and as we move through the information age and beyond, information/communication technology (ICT), and its attendant literacies, have been identified as fundamental to teaching and learning (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007; UNESCO, 2002). And yet, while undeniable benefits have emerged from the employment of ICT in classrooms, complications and shortcomings in cases such as the One Laptop per Child initiative (Selwyn, 2013) serve to remind that technology in the classroom is not a mere neutral, technical affair, but is political, cultural, and historical as well.
Technology in the classroom is a site of great debate and conflict, both in the abstracted realm of pedagogy research and in the concrete realms of policy and practice. A number of narratives surround instructional technology, making claims and foregrounding particular aspects. One position, perhaps more common in policy and mainstream discourse than in academia, holds the beneficial nature of instructional technology in general, and information/communication technology (ICT) in particular, as self-evident (Ertmer, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010;
Negroponte, 1996; Prensky, 2001). This position is well represented by Ertmer and OttenBreit-Leftwich’s (2010) declaration that “It is time to shift our mindsets away from the notion that that technology provides a supplemental teaching tool and assume, as with other professions, that technology is essential to successful performance outcomes…” (p. 256, italics in original).
However, this narrative of necessary and inherently beneficial technology is held by some to be deeply problematic, failing to capture the reality of how technology is actually employed in the classroom (Burbules & Callister, 2000; Cuban, Kirkpatrick, & Peck, 2001; Selwyn, 2011). In too many cases, the situation in the classroom simply does not reflect the glowing discourse of technology’s potential (Cuban & Cuban, 2009; NESTA, 2012). With technology’s value for learning lately being questioned internationally, from primary to post-secondary education (Kamenetz, 2016), an inquiry into the realities of classroom technology use is both timely and necessary.
Warschauer (1998) describes much of the research in educational technology in language acquisition as ‘deterministic’, based in the assumption that technology is some essential thing, has some essential effect, or has essential uses. Technology in learning contexts has often been surrounded by a discourse of technological determinism that attempts to cast it as a neutral force, one that operates independent of society and context (Buckingham, 2008). As Hodas (1993) notes, the technological deterministic approach entails the belief that “the transformative power resides in the box itself rather than the uses to which it is put” (p. 7). In practice, these deterministic (mis)conceptions of what technology is can lead to what Bax (2003) terms the sole agent fallacy, “the common assumption that the key or only factor in successful implementation of the technology is the technology itself” (p. 26).
Perrotta (2013) cautions that deterministic conceptualizations of technology in educational policy and application can not only work counter to potential benefits technology might have, but can also lead to reluctant teachers beings positioned within a discourse of deficiency. Regardless of broad claims of ICT’s potential for transformative learning, every individual teacher makes daily decisions about the place and purpose of technology in their classroom (Vrasidas, 2015). What is needed is a nuanced understanding of classroom technology use that focuses on the relations between humans and technology at the individual level. Thus, this study proceeds at the individual scope, focusing on teacher understanding of classroom technology and its use. Though this work situates this study in the realm of language teaching and acquisition and in the context of South Korean tertiary education, the theoretical implications may have relevance for pedagogy in general.
2 Statement of purpose
This work starts from a foundational assumption that the impact of technology in the classroom is more an outcome of the way it is used than the fact that it is used (Levy, 2009; Vrasidas, 2015). It takes a bottom-up rather than top-down approach to the phenomenon of teacher technology use. Given this, it is important to explore what factors might influence that use. While technology and protocols for employing it are often prescribed by policy, protocol, convention, and/or instructions, responsibility for the actual use of the technology (and in most cases the learning outcomes) falls to the teacher in the classroom (Goodson, Knobel, Lankshear, and Mangan, 2002). If we accept that the transformative power of ICT in the class depends on the way it is used by individual teachers, we must ask what leads teachers to use ICT in particular ways. Of the many factors that may influence a teacher’s implementation of technology, it is cognitive factors that serve as the focus of this study. It is argued here that one major influence on teacher use of ICT is individual teacher attitudes towards, or conceptions of, ICT. The task is to find a way to conceptualize and explore these attitudes and see what relation they might have to actual classroom ICT practices.
3 Overview of the study
This study follows three University English language instructors[1] over the course of a semester, exploring their understanding and use of technology both discursively and empirically. Using a variety of different methods to achieve triangulation and thick description, a picture of these teachers’ relationship with classroom technology emerges. These relationships are explored in terms of the conceptual constructs of technological agency and ideologies of technology.
Finally, consideration is given to potential catalytic impact of the research.
4 The research questions
The phenomenon of interest in this research is teachers’ relationship with classroom ICT as reflected in their espoused ideas and opinions and their practices. The following questions form the foundation for the conceptual framework and research design. The study is guided by the following research question:
How does the understanding and interpretation of technology of English language instructors at a Korean university relate to their classroom use of information/communication technology?
The following secondary questions relate to different facets of the primary question:
- What understandings or interpretations of technology do EFL instructors report concerning the affordances of ICT in the classroom context? (What ICT is in terms of what it can do)
- How can instructors’ approach to ICT be understood in terms of technological agency and ideologies of technology?
- How do these ideologies relate to instructors’ reported pedagogical goals? (What ICT is in terms of what it is for)
- How do these ideologies relate to instructors’ observed classroom technology practices?
- What contextual factors (such as institutional policy and professional culture and/or ideologies of technology) might influence these practices?
- What changes in practices might be observed over the course of the study?
Given the central importance of these questions, they will be referenced explicitly throughout this dissertation.
5 Organization of the dissertation
The dissertation is divided into three sections. Section I, comprising chapters one through four, establishes the foundation of the research. Chapter one orients towards the phenomenon broadly, and introduces the research questions.
Chapter two presents a review of literature relevant to the intersections of the various aspects of the phenomenon of interest: Classroom technology, teacher cognition, and language acquisition. This review serves to situate the current research among extant work, and to justify the current study by identifying a gap in the literature. Chapter three introduces the various elements of the theoretical framework, relating them both to each other and to the research questions to form a theoretical foundation for the study. Finally, chapter four concerns methodology and research design. This chapter addresses methodological assumptions in the study, exploring implications of the interpretive stance taken here. The details and rationale for methods of data collection and analysis are then provided.
Section II of the dissertation, chapters five through nine, explores teacher understanding and use of ICT. Chapter five presents the teachers’ context of technology use, exploring the institution and context in which the teachers operate professionally. Chapters six through eight each focus on one teacher, touching on the teacher’s background, espoused ideas and opinions about technology, and their observed classroom technology use. Each chapter also makes some initial statements about participants’ ideologies of technology.
Section III, chapters nine and ten, connects the thick description of section II to the concepts introduced in chapter four and brings the dissertation to a close. Chapter nine, the discussion chapter, first returns to instructors’ espoused ideas and opinions on technology, with discussion of teacher theories and metaphors emerging from interviews. Discussion then focuses on teacher technology use, discussing patterns emerging from classroom observations. Throughout this chapter, consideration is given to specific technologies referred to and used by the participants. Finally, all of this is brought together, with discussion returning to research questions and conceptual framework. Findings are used to develop and refine the concepts of technological agency and ideologies of technology. In closing, chapter ten presents a discussion of implications, contributions to the field, limitations, potential avenues of future study.
[1] A note on terminology: Though the terms teacher and instructor are largely interchangeable, within this work teacher is used to refer to educators in general, and instructor specifically to the research participants and their colleagues at the research site.
AGENCY, IDEOLOGY, AND INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AT A SOUTH KOREAN COLLEGE