Collaborative Learning and Support Environment for Teachers in Native American Pueblo Schools in New Mexico by Josephine Kilde B.S., University of Wisconsin, 2012 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado Boulder as partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Technology, Media and Society Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Institute 2016 ii This thesis entitled: Collaborative Learning and Support Environment for Teachers in Native American Pueblo Schools in New Mexico written by Josephine Kilde has been approved for the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society Institute ____________________________________________ Clayton Lewis (Chair) ____________________________________________ Sarah Hug ____________________________________________ Noah Finkelstein ____________________________________________ Edwige Simon ____________________________________________ Richard Kitchen ____________________________________________ Lorenzo Gonzales Date____________________________ The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION By Josephine Kilde (Ph.D. Technology, Media and Society; ATLAS Institute) Collaborative Learning and Support Environment for Teachers in Native American Pueblo Schools in New Mexico Dissertation Directed by Professor Clayton Lewis Teachers in rural Native American Pueblo schools in New Mexico lack professional development opportunities due to the long distances between the Pueblos and academic institutions. Previously, most schools received “hit and run” professional development sessions conducted once or twice a year that did not address the real issues faced by teachers each day. To remedy this, Los Alamos National Laboratory established the Math & Science Academy (MSA) in 2000, a K-12 professional development program for teachers that provides intensive and continuous three-year training and support for schools in Northern New Mexico. Though very successful, the MSA program was limited by lack of an online component of the program therefore lacking continuity between professional development sessions. This led to a desire to incorporate a collaborative online component that could bridge gaps between professional development sessions by making the program accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any device, while capturing the camaraderie and collaborative spirit shared in the physical meetings. This research is an ethnographic study of the design, development, and implementation of this online component, herein referred to as CLASET (Collaborative Learning and Support Environment for Teachers). The study setting is in rural, low socioeconomic, resource- poor Northern New Mexico, and involves 67 teachers and 6 principals in seven Native American schools distributed within a 100-mile radius from MSA’s staff office. Data was collected via observations, interviews, focus group, math assessment, and web analytics. The data analysis shows that CLASET was not successful in bridging the MSA gap due to lack of adoption by the teachers. Further investigation demonstrated that five assumptions made implicitly at the beginning of the study, based on pre- assessment data, were violated. The five assumptions were: 1) teachers had math content mastery that they could feel comfortable sharing among peers; 2) CLASET would not require technical knowledge and skill beyond what teachers had acquired; 3) schools had Internet and technology support structures to allow teachers to use CLASET; 4) CLASET’s purpose was clear to teachers; and 5) teachers had time to dedicate to CLASET use. Lessons from the study suggest that CLASET has a place in bridging the professional development gap in the communities in this study and in other rural, low socioeconomic, and resource poor environments, but only if the basic assumptions are first met iv DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my Mom, Jennifer Njambi Kienjeku, who gave up all so I could have it all. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My heartfelt and sincere gratitude go to the following: v To God, for fulfilling my lifelong dream of pursuing education, and for giving me the health, strength, and opportunity needed to reach the top of the mountain. v To my husband, Scott, and children, Jennifer and Shaun, for their support, patience, and love throughout my studies, through the good, the bad, and the ugly. v To my mentor, Lorenzo Gonzales, who not only gave me a research opportunity but also took me under his wing and spent hours mentoring me and shaping me into the person I am today. v To my advisor and committee chair, Clayton Lewis, who took me from the lowest point of my life and walked with me every step of the way, encouraging me, challenging me, holding me up when I was down, and fighting the good fight alongside me, all the way to the top. v To my committee members, Noah Finkelstein, Sarah Hug, Edwige Simon, and Rick Kitchen, who gave me the courage, confidence, and support I needed up until the end. v To the ATLAS Institute and its leaders, John Bennett, Revi Sterling, Jill Dupre, an Mark Gross, for giving me an opportunity to be part of such a wonderful and life changing program. v To the Bureau of Indian Education, the principals, and the teachers in the schools represented in this study. Thank you for letting me into your circle. v To Los Alamos National Laboratory for providing a wonderful and beneficial program for teachers in Northern New Mexico vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION .................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... v CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables .................................................................................................................................................. xi Figures ................................................................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................................... 2 Statement of Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 4 Overview of Methodology .............................................................................................................. 5 Rationale and Significance ............................................................................................................ 5 Researcher Role and Assumptions ............................................................................................. 5 Definitions of Key Terminology ................................................................................................... 6 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................................. 7 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 8 Human beings learn in a socially mediated process. ............................................................ 8 Learning in a socially mediated environment is a complex activity system influenced by rules, communities, and division of labor, all of which affect the learner’s outcome. ............................................................................................................................ 9 vii Five principles govern the outcome of interacting objects from two activity systems. .............................................................................................................................................. 11 CHAT, supported by other learning and design theories, played a major role in defining the CLASET design, development, and redesign process. ................................ 13 Peer Learning Communities ....................................................................................................................... 14 Communities of Practice ............................................................................................................................. 16 Adult Learning Theory ................................................................................................................................. 17 Affordance Theory ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Motivation ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Connectivism ................................................................................................................................................... 20 Failsafe ..............................................................................................................................................................