Technology and Teacher–Student Interactions: A Review of Empirical Research

Abstract

As technology becomes ubiquitous in education, it is critical to understand the ways in which technology influences interactions between teachers and their students. The overarching research question that guided this systematic review was: What does research tell us about how technology influences interactions between teachers and students in K–12 settings? This review examined studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2005 and 2016. Findings indicated that studies examined two types of teacher–student interactions that technology influenced: (a) face-to-face interactions in traditional classrooms, and (b) online interactions in traditional and virtual classrooms. Technology promoted collaboration between teachers and students during learning activities, and teachers who used technology leveraged it to maximize their uses of strategies aimed at facilitating learning and promoting students' exploration of content. (Keywords: teacher–student interaction, educational technology, technology, integration)