Abstract
With a focus on methodology and research process, this paper explores researcher collaboration in the development, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of a multi-institutional study of teacher educators’ perspectives on technology infusion. At the conclusion of the 2018 National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS), attendees recommended use of Q methodology to provide a holistic approach to understanding perspectives of teacher educators who were not technology specialists. As lead researchers, the co-authors worked together to design the study, develop materials, and analyze data. Research collaborators were recruited to collect data, implementing the Q sort process with participants from multiple institutions across the United States. Results revealed (1) variance in participant beliefs about the value of and expertise in integrating technology in teacher preparation and (2) consensus amongst participants about multiple challenges for achieving technology infusion across teacher preparation programs. Q methodology served as an effective approach for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data for subsequent analysis. We explored features of several software programs tailored for Q methodology and gained new insights about the benefits of and challenges to engaging in a collaborative research process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argyris, C., Putnam, R., & McLain Smith, D. (1985). Action science: Concepts, methods, and skills for research and intervention. Jossey-Bass.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. Jossey-Bass.
Banasick, S. (2019). KenQ Analysis Desktop Edition (Version 1.1.0) [Software]. https://github.com/shawnbanasick/kade.
Baron, C., Sklarwitz, S., & Blanco, M. Y. (2020). Assessment of teachers’ gains across multiple historic site-based professional development programs. Teaching and Teacher Education. 93, Article 103077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103077
Brown, S. R. (1980). Political subjectivity: Applications of Q methodology in political science. UK: Yale University Press.
Brown, S. R. (2019). Subjectivity in the human sciences. The Psychological Record. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-019-00354-5
Brown, S.R. (2020, July 30). Re: Online Q sorting [Electronic mailing list message]. https://listserv.kent.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=Q-METHOD;55b3710e.2007.
Bryk A. S., Gomez L. M., & Grunow A. (2011). Getting ideas into action: Building networked improvement communities in education. Stanford, CA: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/resources/publications/getting-ideas-action-building-networked-improvement-communities-education/.
Carpenter, J., Rosenberg, J., Dousay, T., Romero-Hall, E., Trust, T., Kessler, A., Phillips, M., Morrison, S., Fischer, C., & Krutka, D. (2020). What should teacher educators know about technology? Perspectives and self-assessments. Teaching and Teacher Education, 95, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103124
Clausen, J. M., Finsness, E. S., Borthwick, A. C., Graziano, K. J., Carpenter, J., & Herring, M. (2019). TPACK leadership diagnostic tool: Adoption and implementation by teacher education leaders. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 35(1), 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2018.1537818
Clausen, J. M., Borthwick, A. C., & Rutledge, D. (2021). Teacher Educator Perspectives on Technology Infusion: A Closer Look Using Q Methodology. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 29(1), 5–43.
Clausen, J.M., Rutledge, D., Borthwick, A., Foulger, T., Green, K., Trainin, G. & Milman, N. (2020). Teacher education faculty perspectives on technology infusion: Implications for schools and colleges of education. In D. Schmidt-Crawford (Ed.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 917–921). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/215843/.
Day, C., Sammons, P., Hopkins, D., Leithwood, K., & Kington, A. (2008). Research into the impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes: Policy and research contexts. School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organization, 28(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632430701800045
Foulger, T. S. (2020). Design considerations for technology-infused teacher preparation programs. In A. C. Borthwick, T. S. Foulger, & K. J. Graziano (Eds.), Championing technology infusion in teacher preparation: A Framework for supporting future educators (pp. 3–28). International Society for Technology in Education.
Foulger, T. S., Graziano, K. J., Schmidt-Crawford, D., & Slykhuis, D. A. (2017). Teacher educator technology competencies. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 25(4), 413–448.
Graziano, K. J., Herring, M. C., Carpenter, J. P., Smaldino, S., & Finsness, E. S. (2017). A TPACK diagnostic tool for teacher education leaders. TechTrends, 61(4), 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-017-0171-7
Hicks, D. (n.d.). Generating and Sustaining Commitment in Community Collaboration. https://www.researchconnections.org/files/childcare/pdf/HicksCollaborativeCommitment_presentation.pdf.
Ho, G. W. K. (2017). Examining perceptions and attitudes: A review of likert-type scales versus Q-methodology. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 39(5), 674–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945916661302
International Society for Technology in Education. (2015). ISTE Essential Conditions. https://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2016a). New ISTE standards aim to develop lifelong learners. https://www.iste.org/explore/ISTE-blog/New-ISTE-standards-aim-to-develop-lifelong-learners.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2016b). ISTE Standards for Students. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2017). ISTE Standards for Educators. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2018). ISTE Standards for Education Leaders. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-education-leaders.
Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research (3rd ed.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Kopcha, T. J., Rieber, L. P., & Walker, B. B. (2016). Understanding university faculty perceptions about innovation in teaching and technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(5), 945–957. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12361
Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2008). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. School Leadership and Management, 28(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632430701800060
Leithwood, K., & Jantzi, D. (2008). Linking leadership to student learning: The contributions of leader efficacy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 496–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X08321501
Lundberg, A., de Leeuw, R., & Aliani, R. (2020). Using Q methodology: Sorting out subjectivity in educational research. Educational Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100361
Makel, M. C., & Pucker, J. A. (2014). Facts are more important than novelty: Replication in the education sciences. Educational Researcher, 43(6), 304–316. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X14545513
McKeown, B.F., & Thomas, D. B. (2013). Q Methodology (2nd ed.). Sage.
Milman, N., Christensen, R., Spector, J.M., Branch, R., Schmidt-Crawford, D., Hodges, C., Borthwick, A., Shoffner, M., Knezek, G., Rutledge, D. & Manfra, M. (2016). A Revised Replication Study Typology and A Call for Participation: Replication Studies involving Technology and Teacher Education. In G. Chamblee & L. Langub (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1115–1119). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/171829/.
Mishra, P. (2019). Considering contextual knowledge: The TPACK diagram gets an upgrade. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 35(2), 76–78.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783
National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Committee on the Developments in the Science of Learning. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9853
Nauman, A. D., Stirling, T., & Borthwick, A. (2011). What makes writing good? An essential question for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 318–328. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.64.5.2
Nelson, M. J., Voithofer, R., & Cheng, S. (2019). Mediating factors that influence the technology integration practices of teacher educators. Computers & Education, 128, 330–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.09.023
Northern Illinois University. (2005), Stages of Collaboration. Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center. https://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/niu_collabresearch/collabresearch/stages/stages.html.
Schmidt, S. (2009). Shall we Really do it Again? The Powerful Concept of Replication is Neglected in the Social Sciences. Review of General Psychology, 13(2), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015108
Schmolck, P. (2014). PQMethod (Version 2.35) [Computer software adapted from mainframe-program QMethod written by John Atkinson], http://schmolck.org/qmethod/.
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–31. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004
Spector, J. M., Johnson, T. E., & Young, P. A. (2015). An editorial on replication studies and scaling up efforts. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-014-9364-3
Sprunger, J.G. (2017, December). The benefits of engaging in collaborative research relationships. Association for Psychological Science Observer. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-benefits-of-engaging-in-collaborative-research-relationships.
Stephenson, W. (1935). Correlating persons instead of tests. Character and Personality, 4, 17–24.
Subba, L., Bru, E., & Thorsen, A. A. (2017). Primary and lower secondary school teachers’ perceptions of how they manage to support students with learning difficulties in inclusive classrooms. Operant Subjectivity: The International Journal of Q Methodology, 39(3–4), 25–45. https://doi.org/10.15133/j.os.2017.010
ten Klooster, P. M., Visser, M., & de Jong, M. D. T. (2008). Comparing two image research instruments: The Q-sort methods versus the Likert attitude questionnaire. Food Quality and Preference, 19(5), 511–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2008.02.007
Trust, T. (2018). 2017 ISTE Standards for Educators: From teaching with technology to using technology to empower learners. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 34(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2017.1398980
Watts, S., & Stenner, P. (2012). Doing Q methodological research: Theory, method and interpretation. Sage.
Walker, B. B., Lin, Y., & McCline, R. M. (2018). Q methodology and Q-Perspectives Online: Innovative research methodology and instructional technology. TechTrends, 62, 450–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-018-0314-5
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Teresa S. Foulger, Kiersten Greene, Gerald Knezek, Natalie B. Milman, April D. Nauman, and Guy Trainin for their contribution to the development, implementation and/or presentation of this research.
Funding
No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest regarding the development and submission of this manuscript.
Research involving Human Participants
The authors complied with Institutional Review Board procedures regarding human participants.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was acquired from all participants involved in the collection of data for this research.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix
Appendix
-
1.
I believe technology can support knowledge construction, through use of research strategies to locate information and other resources for intellectual and creative pursuits.
-
2.
I believe technology can support the assessment of student learning.
-
3.
I believe technology can enable students to actively explore real-world issues and problems, develop ideas and theories, and pursue answers and solutions.
-
4.
I believe technology can enable students to represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
-
5.
I believe technology can enable students to use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts or others at a local or global level, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.
-
6.
I believe technology can enable students to understand and communicate complex ideas by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, and models or simulations.
-
7.
I believe many faculty members at my institution are unconvinced as to whether technology-infused teaching methods are more effective than traditional instruction.
-
8.
I believe technology use can enable P-12 students to shift from passive to active social learners.
-
9.
I believe technology can support student agency and voice in representing personal or community knowledge and experiences.
-
10.
I believe technology can be a democratizing factor for information access and representation.
-
11.
I feel confident that I could model technology to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learning needs.
-
12.
I feel confident that I could model effective strategies for teaching in online and hybrid P-12 learning environments.
-
13.
I feel confident that I could address the legal, ethical, and socially-responsible use of technology in education.
-
14.
I feel confident that I could model alignment of content standards with technologies to develop authentic learning activities for students to maximize active and deep learning.
-
15.
To build my confidence in teaching with technology I would utilize online resources such as video tutorials, webinars, etc.
-
16.
To build my confidence in teaching with technology I would utilize hands-on workshops.
-
17.
To build my confidence in teaching with technology I would utilize one-on-one coaching.
-
18.
To build my confidence in teaching with technology I would utilize a team focus or personal learning community on technology skill development.
-
19.
To build my confidence in teaching with technology I prefer to learn new technologies independently and try them out myself.
-
20.
I feel confident that I could model technology use for accessing, analyzing, creating, curating, and evaluating information.
-
21.
I feel confident that I could assist teacher candidates with evaluating the potential value of content-specific technologies to support student learning.
-
22.
I feel confident that I could facilitate opportunities for teacher candidates to practice teaching with technology.
-
23.
My teacher education program has full-time faculty members who are competent using and modeling appropriate technologies.
-
24.
My teacher education program has the expectation that all faculty/instructors will model best practice in terms of technology use for P-12 learning.
-
25.
My teacher education program has cooperating/mentor teachers who support candidates as they practice integrating technology in teaching and learning.
-
26.
My teacher education program has a disconnect between the type of pedagogical approaches occurring with technology tools in P-12 schooling versus what is taught in pre-service teacher education.
-
27.
My teacher education program has a disconnect between the types of tools teacher candidates experience in their teacher education program compared to their clinical teaching placements.
-
28.
My teacher education program has coursework that requires teacher candidates to engage in iterative practice for integrating technology in teaching and learning.
-
29.
My teacher education program has curriculum that informs candidates of various frameworks for use of technology (e.g., TPACK, Triple E).
-
30.
My teacher education program has curriculum designed to help candidates meet the ISTE Standards for Educators.
-
31.
My teacher education program focuses on technology use to enable learning and teaching through creation, production, and problem solving.
-
32.
My teacher education program ensures pre-service teachers’ experiences with educational technology are program-deep and program-wide rather than one-off courses separate from their methods courses.
-
33.
My teacher education program has an assessment structure in place to assure that teacher candidates can implement technology effectively in support of P-12 learning.
-
34.
A challenge for our college is sustainable, program-wide systems of professional learning for higher education instructors to strengthen and continually refresh their capacity to use technological tools to enable transformative learning and teaching.
-
35.
A challenge for our college is many teacher education faculty indicate they feel ill-equipped to change the way they teach and thus would like access to structured, formal training.
-
36.
A challenge for our college is few incentives are available to spur faculty to change their pedagogical approach to include effective modeling of technology.
-
37.
A challenge for our college is few incentives are employed for teacher education faculty to spend time learning new technologies.
-
38.
A challenge for our college is there is a scarcity of vision from and action by leadership to develop effective digital technology pedagogy use amongst the faculty.
-
39.
A challenge for our college is the need to invest considerable funds in equipping and preparing faculty to use technology effectively.
-
40.
A challenge for our college is a budget for human and fiscal resources for long-term support of initiatives related to infusion of technology in teacher education programs.
-
41.
A challenge for our college is a clear set of articulated policies to guide a change process related to infusion of technology in teacher education programs.
-
42.
A challenge for our college is insufficient research on how teacher educators can effectively integrate technology program wide.
-
43.
A challenge for our college is helping internal and external partners have a clear understanding of responsibilities for infusing technology in teacher preparation programs.
-
44.
A challenge for our college is there is a scarcity of vision from and action by leadership to develop effective digital technology pedagogy use amongst the teacher education candidates.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clausen, J.M., Borthwick, A.C. & Rutledge, D. Collaborative research and use of Q methodology to understand technology infusion in teacher preparation. Education Tech Research Dev 69, 1617–1639 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10018-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10018-3