Kopcha, Theodore J., Lloyd P. Rieber, & Brandy B. Walker (2016). Understanding university faculty perceptions about innovation in teaching and technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(5), 945-957. (doi: 10.1111/bjet.12361)
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to understand faculty perceptions about innovation in teaching and technology in a collegeof education in a research-intensive university.This study was motivated by the creation of a new initiative begun in a large college of education at a Carnegie Research-Intensive university to promote innovation in teaching with the support and creative use of technology. This study used Q methodology, a mixed methods research design involving quantitative and qualitative analysis of descriptive data derived by a sorting activity. Results showed four emerging profiles about how faculty perceive innovation in teaching and technology. Faculty comprising three of these profiles shared the characteristic of valuing technology’s role in teaching, though in different, nuanced ways. Faculty representing the fourth profile, in contrast, were generally cautious and skeptical of using technology for teaching. Implications of the study are discussed, including the caution not to assume that college faculty share meaning for words like “innovation in teaching and technology.” Also, the results of this study are useful to understanding theories of innovation based on faculty’s perceptions of their ability to adapt to rapidly changing and ever-increasing technology innovations for teaching.
Theodore Kopcha <tjkopcha@uga.edu> is in the Department of Career and Information Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (USA) with research interest in the ways technology can support meaningful approaches to learning in K-12 and higher education. Lloyd Rieber <lrieber@UGA.EDU> is in Learning, Design, and Technology, University of Georgia, with interest in interactive learning environments, such as microworlds, simulations, and games, and how they can be used to increase accessibility to education. Brandy Walker <bbwalker@uga.edu> is a public service assistant at the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia, with interest in applied research on perspective changes in community contexts, experiential learning in higher education, and developing technology-rich leadership curriculum for K-12.
