An examination of the extent and endurance of a technology-based staff development program on the epistemological, ontological, and methodological beliefs of high school chemistry teachers

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2009-05-15

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The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to examine the extent and endurance of influence a technology-based professional development program had on the epistemological, ontological, and methodological beliefs of selected high school chemistry teachers. Three participants of a technology-based professional development program were interviewed with additional insight provided by this author, who was a participant in the program. Evidence of an epistemological, ontological, and methodological change in the participants was indicated by their self-proclaimed change in attitudes concerning the use of inquiry-based learning and information technology in the classroom. The participants understood and related the importance of incorporating inquiry-based learning and information technology into their classroom methodology and provided examples of their applications. Findings of this study reveled that the participants acknowledged the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning and information technology teaching strategies, but did not fully implement either strategy citing time constraints, lack of resources, and statewide accountability testing. A surprising finding was that the participants did not use the technology-based instructional strategies to prepare students for the TAKS test.

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