K-8 Pre-Service Teachers’ Technology Integration in Mathematics: Perspectives and Anticipated Practices

Abstract

This qualitative, phenomenological study sought to examine kindergarten through eighth-grade pre-service teachers’ (N = 19) perspectives on technology integration within the context of mathematics. Topics of primary interest were pre-service teachers’ knowledge of technology integration, their questions/concerns regarding technology integration, their anticipated technology integration practices, and the impact of technological resources on mathematics instruction for their proposed uses of technology. Both the SAMR and PICRAT models informed the methodology of this study. Data were collected from responses to open-ended prompts as part of a mathematics methods course and analyzed with both a priori (i.e., SAMR and PICRAT) and emergent coding. Findings showed that responses were most aligned with interactive, amplification level of the PICRAT model and the augmentation level of the SAMR model, in which pre-service teachers often described students’ use of mathematical games. Additionally, this study found that pre-service teachers reported limited knowledge of technology integration, have questions/concerns related to when and how to integrate technology, and anticipate that they will integrate technology into their future classrooms relatively frequently. Implications of the findings for both researchers and teacher educators are discussed, as well as recommendations for future research.