Each year, hundreds of Louisiana's teachers participate in state-sponsored Integration of Technology (INTECH) training. Although INTECH training and certification is acknowledged by the Louisiana Department of Education as the standard for technology-trained teachers, no research has been conducted to determine its impact on student achievement (Picard, 2000). The study's purposes were to examine perceptions of school leaders about Louisiana INTECH professional development as a change agent in schools and to determine the impact of this training on third grade mathematics and reading achievement. This study addressed the questions: Do elementary school leaders perceive INTECH professional development as a catalyst for change in schools? Does this professional development impact student achievement in mathematics and reading? This quantitative study was an ex-post facto, causal-comparative design. Seventy-three elementary administrators were asked to respond to an 18-item Likert-type survey measuring openness to change prompted by the Louisiana INTECH professional development model. Results from the survey were reported as descriptive statistics. Additionally, the study attempted to determine if there was a significant difference in third grade student mathematics and reading achievement in the INTECH certified teachers and non-INTECH certified teachers' classes. The ITBS mathematics and reading standard scores were used for comparison. Nonrandom convenience sampling was used to identify the students of INTECH certified teachers and the students of non-INTECH certified teachers with similar years of experience, education level, and school demographics. The dependent variable was student performance on the ITBS. The independent variable was INTECH professional development. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, test data were analyzed using ANOVA to determine if there was a difference in the means of the gain scores in mathematics and reading of students in the classrooms of INTECH trained teachers (experimental group) and non-INTECH trained teachers (control group). Distributions of student pretest scores were examined to compare mean achievement. In a time when instructional strategies, tools and resources must be aligned to meet state and local accountability expectations, this state-sponsored technology integration professional development model must be examined. Significant resources are expended supporting INTECH training across the state. Louisiana's educational leaders need data to support decisions concerning INTECH professional development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uno.edu/oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1636 |
| Date | 15 December 2007 |
| Creators | Abshire, Sheryl |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UNO |
| Source Sets | University of New Orleans |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations |
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