Integrating Service-Learning into Technology Training in Teacher Preparation

AbstractBased on a partnership between a teacher preparation program and an urban school district, this study evaluates a project that used a service-learning model to connect preservice teachers to working teachers to help the working teachers integrate technology into their teaching while giving the preservice teachers an authentic context for their assignments. Using multiple data sources including questionnaires, class projects, interviews, and field notes, this study looked at the success of service-learning in technology instruction in terms of student satisfaction and student learning related to technology skills, technology integration strategies, and issues that teachers confront teaching diverse populations. The results of the study provide suggestions for the successful integration of service-learning for technology training in teacher education.