Date of Award

12-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Joshua Hunter

Abstract

Colleges and universities create learning environments that strive to optimize strengths and minimize weaknesses of learners. Media rich environments have changed the current generation of learners just as it is now changing higher education. There is currently a need to examine the experiences and perceptions of instructors when adopting innovations such as instructional videos for use in their media enriched curriculum delivery. This study used a phenomenological approach to discover why and how faculty at a 4-year public university use the innovation of instructional video in their classrooms. The phenomenon studied was the adoption process and the motivation of the adoption process through the experiences and perceptions of the participating faculty. The theoretical framework for studying this process was Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory. This theory is based on the idea that innovations in technology and practices change over time and the adoption or rejection of innovations is based on several factors that are discoverable. A phenomenological interview process was used to discover the lived experiences of tenured and tenure-track faculty members in relation to their adoption of the innovation of the use of instructional video in their teaching. Each participant expressed that their use of the innovation of instructional video enhanced the learning experiences of their students. They used social networks to share knowledge about innovations like technology and instructional videos. They used instructional video produced by others as well as some self-produced videos. They did not have a more extensive use of self- produced instructional video because their workloads did not provide the time to devote to professional levels of instructional videos and their skill sets were not of a level to produce professional results. The results of this study provide important data to examine when developing approaches and policies that encourage innovations such as the increased use of media rich environments such as instructional videos.

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