A case study of how a sample of preservice teachers made sense of incorporating iPads into their instruction with children

ABSTRACT

The increased use of and demand for technology in early childhood education classrooms and programs creates new challenges for practicing and preservice early educators being asked to employ such technology within their teaching. Early childhood teacher education programs have struggled to meet these demands for teaching their students how to integrate such technology into their instruction with young children. Preservice teachers who do receive such training often fail to develop the skills and/or beliefs required to implement technology effectively into their own classrooms. The study reported on in this article addresses this issue by providing insight into how a sample of early childhood preservice teachers who used iPads and their apps in their coursework and high-stakes early learning field placements made sense of using these devices as teachers. Such findings illuminate instructional opportunities for teacher educators to consider as they seek to assist their students in making sense about how to implement as well as adopt appropriate and effective instructional strategies into their own classrooms.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editors of this journal and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback and critiques of our work. Their statements, critiques, and suggestions made this a much stronger piece.

Notes

1. Parts of phrases found on the handout: Spark children’s interest/curiosity about a topic; Gather content/information without an adult; Demonstrate knowledge; What kinds of topics could this app be used for; and, What elements of the app make it compelling and beneficial especially for young children come from Dr. Jennifer Adair.

2. This topic came from Jennifer Adair.