Definitions of Terms
Education
Education is the life-long process of learning. This learning is done both formally through the educational system, and informally through life experience. Pajares (1992) defines education as directed and purposeful learning, both formal and informal, with "the main task of bringing behavior in with cultural requirements" (p. 316).
Schooling
Schooling is the formal instructional system in the United States and other developed countries. The primary function of schooling is socializing various groups in society (deMarrais & LeCompte, 1999). Schooling usually spans the years from approximately 5 to 18, with the extension of higher education schooling being available to some.
Technology
In the everyday world, technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. This means, of course, that technology has existed as long as the human race has existed. Many people associate the word technology with computers and electronics, and while technology does include these, it is not limited to them. Technology can be broadly defined.
In education, a branch of knowledge based on the development and implementation of computers, software, and other technical tools, and the assessment and evaluation of students' educational outcomes resulting from their use of technology tools. (NCREL, 1995, T section, ¦ 2)
For the purposes of this dissertation, technology will be defined not as any tool used to improve life, but as electronic tools used to improve education.
Instructional Technology
Instructional technology is all methods that incorporate electronic resources and tools to improve the educational process. This means that instructional technology is a combination of electronic material resources and educational processes. For this study, however, in terms of the technology only, the definition of instructional technology has been limited to computer technology, excluding presentation software. This exclusion was important for this study because many faculty have incorporated such programs as Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote into their instructional methods, but in fact many were simply replacing the older technology of overheads. This use would not reflect a fundamental shift in the understanding of, use of, or beliefs in instructional technology.
Teaching Method
A teaching method is the smallest unit of instruction, and is the fundamental basis of teaching. It is a specific instructional technique, a tool chosen to teach a particular concept to the learners. Teaching methods are flexible and can vary from day to day or concept to concept, but each method a teacher chooses will be in relation to his/her teaching style and his/her overall teaching beliefs. For example, the lecture is a teaching method. Group discussions or peer review are two additional types of teaching methods. For most teachers, the choice of a particular method is based on subject content; a teacher chooses a particular method because he/she believes it is the best method for the concept that needs to be taught. However, realistically, the choice of method is not so simple. A teacher may believe that he or she is choosing based on an educational concept, but essentially, a teacher chooses a method because this method fits his/her teaching style and is congruent to his/her teaching beliefs. As Grasha and Yangarber-Hicks (2000) note:
By using the technique we have also implicitly taken a position on a much deeper philosophical issue about the nature of knowledge and how it is acquired . . . . In a sense, any instructional process has deeper implications. How and when it is used reflects our assumptions about how people learn, our belief in empirically derived principles of learning, and our views of human nature. Using several forms of an exam in an electronic format in class, for example, certainly suggests that we believe people cannot be trusted. (p. 2)
Teaching Style
A teaching method is a specific instructional technique; a teaching approach is the combination of teaching methods, while a teaching style refers to the ways the teaching approaches can be combined (Hoyt & Lee, 2002). What Hoyt and Lee mean is that a style is, essentially, a combination of various teaching methods.
Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered
In teacher-centered classrooms, the teacher is the center of the learning process. The teacher chooses, based on expertise and training, the methods, activities, and techniques that will assist the students in receiving and assimilating information. These methods, activities, and techniques usually involve the transmission of information from the teacher to the student. Teacher-centered classrooms allow for a large volume of information to be shared in a short amount of time while the teacher has total control of the organization of the class, the pace of the class, and the content of the class. The instructor is the expert and there usually is a system of one-way communication. On the other end of the spectrum, in student-centered classrooms, the student is the center of the learning process and is the most critical element. Student-centered classrooms focus on innovative, interactive, student-driven methods that respond to a variety of learning styles. These student-centered approaches require active participation from teachers and students (Teaching Philosophies: Teacher and Student Centered Approaches, 2004).
Teacher Beliefs
Teacher beliefs are, quite simply, attitudes toward schooling, teaching, learning, and students (Pajares, 1992) .
Summary
In order to better serve the teaching and learning process, technology
resource center personnel must first understand why faculty do or do
not readily incorporate instructional technology into their teaching
methodology. To this end, the first step was to look at how faculty perceive
themselves as teachers and examine their fundamental assumptions about
themselves as teachers. This first step was an examination of faculty
beliefs toward the construct of teaching and learning, and whether these
beliefs included technology as an educational tool that would achieve
goals and objectives. The purpose of this study was to explore how intrinsic
fundamental beliefs about teaching, the notion of who a person is as
a teacher, not extrinsic resource-based barriers, may influence faculty
instructional technology incorporation.