Dr. Juna Z. Snow Dissertation (2005) Abstract
This dissertation presents an innovation, StoneSoup Digital Portfolio System (StoneSoup), and what happened when it was introduced into a specific school setting. StoneSoup utilized an electronic medium as a place for educators to connect curricula, pedagogy, and assessment. StoneSoup offered a flexible system design and accessibility through a Web browser that intended to support existing classroom practices while fostering a more personalized or learner-centered approach to education.
This research used an interpretivist approach and mixed methods for data collection and analysis. Observations, interviews, questionnaires, and document review were the principal methods used. The research presented and discussed relays how teachers used StoneSoup in curricular activities and for assessment of student achievement. The school site criteria were as follows: (a) teachers experienced in constructivist pedagogies and corollary assessment methods, (b) teachers interested in working with computers in the classroom, and (c) students familiar with writing reflections on their activities, which StoneSoup is designed to facilitate. This study asked the question: How did teachers and students use StoneSoup when the innovation was introduced into constructivist curricular activities?
The design of StoneSoup was driven by techno-reform efforts. An approach to change or improvement that utilizes technology to correct faults, remove inconsistencies, and impose modern methods or values is referred to as techno-reform (Snow, 2005). A techno-reform approach to public school transformation introduces technological innovations into educational settings to change the delivery and experience of public education. Thus, the introduction and use of StoneSoup was intended to illuminate the potential of, as well as the barriers to, the adoption of such a techno-reform innovation. The teachers conceptualized the innovation potentiality for supporting and furthering their practice. However, they underestimated (a) the support (e.g. adequate time, access, and training) needed to undertake innovation adoption at Gaia Middle School, and (b) the integration needed of regular computer use into their practice.