Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Nowadays, people normally use modern set of technology for all their

activities. Various gadgets are out in the market just to aid people’s work easier

and faster. Today’s young learners are adventurous and love to discover new

things as they explore in the internet. They are the kinds of learners that does not

need to be instructed on what to do in obtaining information.

Therefore, teachers should shift their teaching styles from traditional to

progressive one. Technology has become an educational necessity in the global-

digital era. Technology integration highlights on the importance of differentiated

instruction to cater the learners’ differences. This would be an avenue to meet and

adopt the rapid and continuing technological changes. Technology is primarily

used to enhance teaching quality and provide visuals for attention, engagement

and interaction. In addition, technology is integrated in teaching for time

management, motivation and meeting the individual learners’ needs (Liu, 2016).

This study concerned on the skills’ readiness of the student teachers in

terms of technology integration in teaching the 21st century learners. Technology

integration is a slow and complex process and influenced by many factors. These

factors may include in organization, teachers and technology (Shin, Han, and Kim,

2014). In this connection, this study aimed to know about the skills’ readiness of
the pre-service teachers. It focused on the teaching practices, teaching skills and

content knowledge parallel to technology integration. It is a great challenge to the

teachers on how to win the attention of todays’ generation in teaching.

In the study of Farisi (2015), teachers should strive in developing the 21st

century skills and need to act as a "multimedia creator" where in they are able to

create their own multi-media teaching materials. They must design a good and

appropriate program model or strategies deemed capable to improve the learning

quality. According to Aslan and Zhu (2016) quoted from (Inan & Lowther, 2010;

Sandholtz, 1997; Zhao & Frank, 2003), teachers’ attitudes towards expertise with

technology has been identified as key factors associated with technology use in

the classroom.

Therefore, teachers need to hold a positive attitude towards technology in

order to use effectively. In order to foster teacher technology integration, educators

should develop a systematic approach that holistically addresses different needs

for various factors (Hur, Shannon and Wolf, 2016). It is also stated that their

teaching practices will shape how they incorporate technology in teaching. They

should develop new ways to integrate technology into education for an effective

learning environment (Baytak, Tarman and Ayas, 2011).

But, while many teachers use technology in their private lives and know

how to operate it; they often lack some of the other knowledge and skills required

to support teaching and learning. Integrating technology effectively requires

planning, sufficient time, dedication and enough resources (Ramorola, 2013). So,

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teachers should be trained rigorously and prepared globally for the upcoming

learners.

Student teachers need to be prepared to keep up on how professional

teachers are using technology in the subjects they teach and better understand

the essential role that technology plays in supporting the work and generating

knowledge. In the study of Farisi (2016), as quoted from (Wright and Wilson, 2005;

Lambert, 2004) emphasized that student teachers should be trained to find

creative ideas to overcome obstacles or limitation in integrating technology into the

classroom. According to Bruniges (2015), there is no question that technology

engages students but what they learn using the technology and how they learn still

depends on the craft and skills of the teacher.

According to Moeller and Reitzes (2011) based on the National Educational

Technology Standards (International Society for Technology in Education, 2007)

teachers should be encouraged to incorporate technology across content areas

including: using technology to demonstrate creative thinking and to develop

innovative products; using technology to communicate and work collaboratively;

applying digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information; and using critical

thinking and problem solving to make informed decisions regarding appropriate

digital tools and resources.

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Conceptual Framework

This set out an overview on skills readiness of student teachers in Golden

Heritage Polytechnic College on integrating technology in teaching the 21 st century

learners. Since, teacher plays an important role in the literacy development of a

child, enough knowledge is required to affect a life-long learning.

Therefore, student teachers must be equipped with the technologies they

have right now to better serve the learners in the next generation to come.

Teachers should adopt the continuing change and integrate technology in

teaching. Among the factors that affect the skills readiness of student teachers are;

the content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, teaching practices, and teaching

skills.

That is why, student teachers should have a deeper knowledge on what

he/she will going to teach to avoid giving the wrong information to his/her learners

that could lead to misconception. It is very important that a teacher must have an

ample knowledge on the subject he/she will impart. As the principle goes, you

cannot give what you do not have. So, a teacher should be knowledgeable in

various aspects although they cannot obtain everything but to have a concentration

on a field they are inclined to.

Thus, previous research has focused on examining the factors influencing

teachers’ technology use, and many of them have shown that teachers’

constructivist pedagogical beliefs positively influence their instructional practice

and computer use in the classroom according to Liu (2016).

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 Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Respondent’s Profile Technology Integration

● Age; ● Content knowledge

● Gender; ● Pedagogical

● Civil status; knowledge

● Teaching practices
● Place of birth;
● Teaching skills
● Technological
resources owned;

Skills readiness of the respondents on

technology integration in teaching the 21st

century learners

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram Showing the Interplay Between Independent

Variables and Dependent Variables of the Study

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Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to verify how equipped do the student teachers in Golden

Heritage Polytechnic College, academic year 2016- 2017 on integrating

technology in teaching the 21 st century learners.

Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions;

1. How are the respondents distributed in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Gender;

1.3 Civil status;

1.4 Place of birth; and

1.5 Technological resources owned?

2. What are their level of technology integration during internship period in terms

of:

2.1 Content knowledge;

2.2 Pedagogical knowledge;

2.3 Teaching practices; and

2.4 Skills training?

3. Is there a significant difference in the respondents’ profile and in technology

integration in terms of:

3.1 Content knowledge;

3.2 Pedagogical knowledge;

3.3 Teaching practices; and

3.4 Teaching skills?

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4.What is the level of skills’ readiness did the respondents had towards technology

integration?

Hypothesis

Problems 1, 2 and 4 are hypotheses free. On the basis of problem no.3, the

following were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

H1. There is a significant difference in the respondents’ profile and in technology

integration in terms of:

a. content knowledge;

b. pedagogical knowledge;

c. teaching practices; and

d. teaching skills?

Significance of the Study

This research is beneficial to the following:

Researchers. This study will provide a baseline information for the

researchers as future teachers to have a wider understanding about technology

integration in teaching. It gives them insights on how to teach these new generation

of learners.

Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs). This study is beneficial to the

teacher education institution by giving understanding of this 21 st century. As a

result of the accelerated technological development that transpires around them in

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the digital age, Academic Institutions are required to adapt the frequent changes

in education. Therefore, it should shift their teaching focus to empower student

teachers with the skills needed in teaching the 21st century learners.

Internal and External Stakeholders. This study can give information to the

stakeholders of education for further development of educational system in the

country. It can give them a wider view about the importance of integrating

technology in teaching the 21st century learners which are known as the digital

natives. Therefore, it can help them to obtain a good decision on what should be

the best help they can give to obtain useful and meaningful learning outcomes.

Since, they provide different learning resources in school, they can address the

needs of an educational institution for having a quality education.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The scope of the study was focused on the skills’ readiness of the student

teachers in Golden Heritage Polytechnic College academic year 2016- 2017 in

terms of technology integration in teaching the 21 st century learners. There were

thirty (30) respondents chosen. The independent variables were limited only to 1)

age; 2) gender; 3) civil status; 4) place of birth; and 5) technological resources

owned. On the other hand, the dependent variables were limited also to 1) content

knowledge; 2) pedagogical knowledge; 3) teaching practices; and 4) skills trainings

of the student teachers in terms of technology integration in teaching. These were

the variables that have something to do with the skills’ readiness of the student

teachers on integrating technology in teaching the 21 st century learners.

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Definition of Terms
The following terms explained the meaning on how things really work out

on this study:

Age. This variable refers to the number of years of existence of the

respondent in this world.

Civil status. This variable refers to the household standing of the

respondent either married or single.

Content knowledge. This variable refers to the knowledge of the student

teacher about the subject matter they are about to impart to their pupils. It is about

the background knowledge of the student teachers regarding the topic and how

wide is his/her knowledge of the content.

Digital natives. This term refers to the 21st century learners. They are the

type learners wherein their environment since the day that they were born are

surrounded with technological advances and therefore, they are digital literate and

their lifestyle is digitally dependent.

Digital immigrants. This term refers to the persons whose previous life are

not exposed to computer world but eventually learned the computer skills and

applied it in their lifestyle.

Gadgets. This term refers to the things that are used by the student

teachers in communication and entertainment purposes particularly smart phones,

laptops, and computers.

Gender. This variable refers to the sex of the respondents either male or

female.

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 Learning outcome. This term refers to the change of behavior of learners

after the implementation of the program which manifest the internalization of

knowledge acquired through its integration.

Place of birth. This variable refers to the place where the respondent is

born and where he/she first sees the world and acquired learning.

Participation. This term refers to the act in which the learners actively

involved in every classroom activity, engaging themselves and considered

themselves as part of the process.

Pedagogical knowledge. This variable refers to the knowledge of the

respondents regarding their beliefs on how he or she integrate technology in

teaching.

Skills’ readiness. This term refers to the level of preparedness of the

student teachers in terms of teaching the technology to the 21st century learners.

It is about how equipped they are in pursuing the next level of their journey.

Skills. This term refers to the knowledge acquired by the student teacher

about computer operation and utilization of resources by integrating technology in

teaching content in a meaningful way to give the appropriate learning experiences

to their learners.

Skills training. This term refers to the professional development activity

aimed to enhance and develop the teaching capabilities of the student teacher. It

is about teaching the teacher to be equipped with technological expertise and

pedagogical knowledge and how to use it meaningfully.

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 Student teacher. This term refers to the students undergo student teaching

internship as their lifetime vocation.

Teaching practices. This variable refers to the various teaching styles and

strategies use by the student teachers in teaching with the use of technology. It is

about the styles of teaching owned by the teacher which is reflected in his/her way

of delivering the subject matter with freedom and become a trademark of who

he/she is as a teacher.

Teaching skills. This variable refers to ability of the respondents in terms

of teaching. It is about the application of one’s own learning of the different trainings

regarding the use of technology that the respondents had went through and put

into practice.

Technology. This term refers to the computer hardware and its application

that offers a variety of learning experiences for the pupils. In particular thing, it

comes in the form of smart phones, laptops, and computers and projectors.

Technology integration. This term refers to the process of using

computers and its different applications in giving interesting and motivating

classroom activities. It is the utilization of technology resources in the teaching

process.

Technology resources. This term refers to the system that produce and

create a product out of something that contribute a meaningful outcome. These

are the material assets of the respondent they owned.

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 Tool. This term refers to the teaching resources that could be used for the

attainment of a certain objective. Considering the computer application used as

instruments in delivering the subject matter to achieve a meaningful learning

outcomes.

Twenty-first century learners. This term refers to the kind of learners on

today’s generation that are born in digital era thus inclined to technology operation.

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