RECURSIVE ADAPTATION AND INTERDEPENDENT COMMUNICATION: A GROUNDED APPROACH TO THE INTEGRATION OF NEW/MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AND THE K-2 TEACHER

Abstract

The ascendency of technology in contemporary culture has catalyzed vertiginous alterations in the communication practices of individuals, groups, and organizations. The integration of new/mobile technology in educational institutions has rapidly increased since 2010, modifying the praxis and pedagogy of educators.. This research is designed as an exploratory and expositive examination of the impact of technology integration on K-2 teachers. The research asks three questions concerning the phenomena of integration of technology in the K-2 classroom: (a) how K-2 teachers evaluate the influence of technology on their ability to achieve desired learning objectives (b) what is the impact of technology on the teacher and their process of teaching and (c) what influence does the integration of technology have on the development of the teacher- student- parent relationship. Grounded theory methodology was incorporated to collect data from 28 teachers in Midwest suburban elementary schools. Findings include eight themes and two theoretical findings. Recursive Identity/ Agency Adaptation (RI/AA) describes how K-2 teachers are iteratively adapting to the integration of technology through the management of their resources and the maintenance of their identities. In addition, the inquiry of teacher-student-parent relationship uncovered the transition to an Interdependent Stakeholder Model of classroom stakeholders. This result posits a transition from a tri-linear model of stakeholder communication to an integrated model that produces increased participation and accountability, richer communication, and affirmation of students through the compression of time, virtualization of space and clarification of the content and context of messages.