English Teachers’ Cultural Models About Technology

Abstract

Prompted by calls for research on technology-focused professional development, this ethnographic case study investigates how teachers’ participation in learning communities may influence technology integration within the secondary English curriculum. In this article, I draw on educational psychology, cognitive anthropology, and sociolinguistics to build a theory of teacher learning. I then take a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis to show how teachers’ use of language and contextualization cues within a learning community reflects their cultural models, or everyday beliefs, about technology. This study addresses two gaps in the literature. First, it explores the role of situated language in constructing English teachers’ cultural models related to technology. Second, it examines micro-level interactions within a professional learning community to understand how teacher learning occurs in social and cultural contexts. The analysis suggests that the implementation of educational reforms, including reforms associated with technology integration and literacy education, is often dependent upon teachers’ skills, values, and cultural models.