October 2007 Volume 10 Number 4 - Educational Technology ...

evolution with computing technology, and (3) perceptions and practices of computer-based instruction. Demographic
background included information about age, gender, teaching seniority, school size and school region. Items in the
latter two sections were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). From
data in the second section, the respondents were classified into five evolutionary stages (entry, adoption, adaptation,
appropriation and invention) to indicate teachers’ level of computer use, according to the definitions of Sandholtz,
Ringstaff, & Dwyer (1996): (1) entry stage: teachers spend a lot of time in installing software and managing
hardware and students spend most of time in learning computer skills instead of subject contents; (2) adoption stage:
teachers utilize software (i.e. word processors, excel etc.) to assist their traditional teaching; (3) adaptation stage:
teacher apply various software for instructional purposes and integrate technology successfully in
classrooms; (4) appropriation stage: teachers develop multiple teaching strategies to promote students’ cognitive
ability, share computer-based teaching experience with other teachers, and feel confident in integrating technology
into teaching; (5) invention stage: teachers lead students to use software as a learning tool, develop innovative
teaching strategies and assessments with computers, and affirm the value of computer-based instruction.
Table 1 shows teachers’ instructional evolution with computers in terms of five categories: classroom management,
software use, teaching strategies, learning efficiency, and confidence and beliefs. There is an item for each of the five
“evolutionary” stages plotted against the five categories: thus 25 items in all. The respondents needed to pick one
description for each category to represent their current level of experience with computing technologies. The round
average of the values (from 1: entry to 5: invention) in these five categories represents the current stage of the
teacher’s computer-based instructional evolution.
Contractors
Table 1. Characteristics of the Stages of Instructional Evolution (Sandholtz, Ringstaff, & Dwyer, 1996)
Stages
Classroom
management
Software use
Teaching
strategies
Learning
efficiency
Confidence
and beliefs
Reacting to
problems
Entry Adoption Adaptation Appropriation Invention
Dealing with
problems in
software
installations and
management
No change
Students spend
time in learning
computer skills
No faith in
computer-
based
instruction;
having doubts
most of the time
Anticipating and
developing strategies
for solving problems
Learning software
Designing activities to
teach students
computer skills
Promoting learning
motivation but not
improving conceptual
understanding
(sometimes having a
negative impact on
students’ grades)
Attempting to use
technology in
classrooms
Utilizing the
technological
advantage in
managing the
classroom
Using software for
instructional
purposes
Integrating
technology to
improve students’
knowledge
comprehension
Reducing students’
learning load and no
significant
improvement in
conceptual
understanding
Often integrating
technology
successfully in
classrooms
Intertwining instruction approaches and
management strategies
Integrating software
in learning
processes and
enhancing students’
mutual support in
software use
Using multiple
methods to promote
students’ cognitive
ability
Cultivating
cognitive ability
Having confidence
in integrating
technology into
teaching; sharing
experiences with
other teachers
Leading students
to use software
as a learning tool
Developing
strategies for
innovative
teaching such as
project-based
learning,
modeling etc.
Promoting
problem-
solving ability
Affirming the
value of
computer-based
instruction
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