The culture of education

Despite increases in computer access and technology training, technology is not being used to support the kinds of instruction believed to be most powerful. In this paper, we examine technology integration through the lens of the teacher as an agent of change: What are the necessary characteristics, or qualities, that enable teachers to leverage technology resources as meaningful pedagogical tools? To answer this question, we discuss the literature related to four variables of teacher change: knowledge, self-efficacy, pedagogical beliefs, and subject and school culture. Specifically, we propose that teachers’ mindsets must change to include the idea that “teaching is not effective without the appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICT) resources to facilitate student learning.” Implications are discussed in terms of both teacher education and professional development programs. (Keywords: teacher change, teacher knowledge, teacher beliefs, technology integration)

/pdf/teacher-technology-change-how-knowledge-confidence-beliefs-4nbmtwnvte.pdf

Teacher Technology Change: How Knowledge, Confidence, Beliefs, and Culture Intersect

Early studies indicated that teachers' enacted beliefs, particularly in terms of classroom technology practices, often did not align with their espoused beliefs. Researchers concluded this was due, at least in part, to a variety of external barriers that prevented teachers from using technology in ways that aligned more closely with their beliefs. However, many of these barriers (access, support, etc.) have since been eliminated in the majority of schools. This multiple case-study research was designed to revisit the question, ''How do the pedagogical beliefs and classroom technology practices of teachers, recognized for their technology uses, align?'' Twelve K-12 classroom teachers were purposefully selected based on their award-winning technology practices, supported by evidence from personal and/or classroom websites. Follow-up interviews were conducted to examine the correspondence between teachers' classroom practices and their pedagogical beliefs. Results suggest close alignment; that is student-centered beliefs undergirded student-centered practices (authenticity, student choice, collaboration). Moreover, teachers with student-centered beliefs tended to enact student-centered curricula despite technological, administrative, or assessment barriers. Teachers' own beliefs and attitudes about the relevance of technology to students' learning were perceived as having the biggest impact on their success. Additionally, most teachers indicated that internal factors (e.g., passion for technology, having a problem-solving mentality) and support from others (administrators and personal learning networks) played key roles in shaping their practices. Teachers noted that the strongest barriers preventing other teachers from using technology were their existing attitudes and beliefs toward technology, as well as their current levels of knowledge and skills. Recommendations are made for refocusing our professional development efforts on strategies for facilitating changes in teachers' attitudes and beliefs.

Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship

This paper describes a teacher knowledge framework for technology integration called technological pedagogical content knowledge (originally TPCK, now known as TPACK, or technology, pedagogy, and c...

/pdf/what-is-technological-pedagogical-content-knowledge-tpack-4jb6gf4itt.pdf

What is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Student teachers should be prepared to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into their future teaching and learning practices. Despite the increased availability and support for ICT integration, relatively few teachers intend to integrate ICT into their teaching activities (e.g., Ertmer, 2005). The available research has thus far mainly focused on isolated teacher related variables to explain the weak level of ICT integration. Also, most of this research was set up in Western settings. The present study centers on the impact of Chinese student teachers' gender, constructivist teaching beliefs, teaching self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy, and computer attitudes on their prospective ICT use. For this purpose, a survey was set up involving student teachers from four Normal Universities in China (N=727). Results show that prospective ICT integration significantly correlates with all teacher related variables, except for gender. Building on the results of a path analysis model, prospective ICT integration could be directly predicted on the base of teacher thinking variables (constructivist teaching beliefs, teacher self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy and computer attitudes in education), and indirectly by the gender of the student teachers. Implications for teacher education and further research are discussed.

/pdf/student-teachers-thinking-processes-and-ict-integration-15v8j7ckh8.pdf

Student teachers' thinking processes and ICT integration: Predictors of prospective teaching behaviors with educational technology

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been introduced as a conceptual framework for the knowledge base teachers need to effectively teach with technology. The framework stems from the notion that technology integration in a specific educational context benefits from a careful alignment of content, pedagogy and the potential of technology, and that teachers who want to integrate technology in their teaching practice therefore need to be competent in all three domains. This study is a systematic literature review about TPACK of 55 peer-reviewed journal articles (and one book chapter), published between 2005 and 2011. The purpose of the review was to investigate the theoretical basis and the practical use of TPACK. Findings showed different understandings of TPACK and of technological knowledge. Implications of these different views impacted the way TPACK was measured. Notions about TPACK in subject domains were hardly found in the studies selected for this review. Teacher knowledge (TPACK) and beliefs about pedagogy and technology are intertwined. Both determine whether a teacher decides to teach with technology. Active involvement in (re)design and enactment of technology-enhanced lessons was found as a promising strategy for the development of TPACK in (student-)teachers. Future directions for research are discussed

Technological pedagogical content knowledge – a review of the literature

For many years, researchers have searched for the factors affecting the use of computers in the classroom. In studying the antecedents of educational computer use, many studies adopt a rather limited view because only technology-related variables, such as attitudes to computers and computer experience were taken into account. The present study centres on teachers' educational beliefs (constructivist beliefs, traditional beliefs) as antecedent of computer use, while controlling for the impact of technology-related variables (computer experience, general computer attitudes) and demographical variables (sex, age). In order to identify differences in determinants of computer use in the classroom, multilevel modelling was used (N=525). For measuring primary teachers' use of computers to support the leaching or learning process a modified version of the 'Class Use of Computers' scale of van Braak et al. [van Braak, J., Tondeur, J., & Valcke, M. (2004). Explaining different types of computer use among primary school teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19(4), 407-422] was used. The present article supports the hypothesis that teacher beliefs are significant determinants in explaining why teachers adopt computers in the classroom. Next to the impact of computer experience, general computer attitudes and gender, the results show a positive effect of constructivist beliefs on the classroom use of computers. Traditional beliefs have a negative impact on the classroom use of computers.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/444938/file/6814213.pdf

The impact of primary school teachers' educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers

The central aim of this study was to test a model that integrates determinants of educational computer use. In particular, the article examines teacher and school characteristics that are associated with different types of computer use by primary school teachers. A survey was set up, involving 527 teachers from 68 primary schools in Flanders. A separate questionnaire was administered to information and communication technology (ICT) coordinators from the same schools to gather additional information about cultural and contextual school characteristics. The combined impact of both teacher and school characteristics was explored through a multilevel analysis. Besides the importance of school characteristics, the results reveal differential effects of specific characteristics on specific types of computer use. Cultural school characteristics for instance, such as the schools’ openness to change and the availability of an ICT school policy plan, are positively related to the use of computers as a learning tool and to the adoption of ICT in view of basic computer skills. In contrast, no cultural school characteristic seem to be associated with the use of computers as an information tool. In a comparable way, teacher characteristics are associated with specific types of computer use, e.g. the variable gender. In general, male teachers report integrating computers more often. In this study, it appears that gender differences only exist in relation to the adoption of computers as an information tool. The results demonstrate that a multidimensional approach provides more insight into the characteristics affecting computer use.

/pdf/a-multidimensional-approach-to-determinants-of-computer-use-3sby979lg7.pdf

A Multidimensional Approach to Determinants of Computer Use in Primary Education: Teacher and School Characteristics.

Despite the widespread assumption that students require scaffolding support for self-regulated learning (SRL) processes in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs), there is little clarity as to which types of scaffolds are most effective. This study offers a literature review covering the various scaffolds that support SRL processes in the domain of science education. Effective scaffolds are categorized and discussed according to the different areas and phases of SRL. The results reveal that most studies on scaffolding processes focus on cognition, whereas few focus on the non-cognitive areas of SRL. In the field of cognition, prompts appear to be the most effective scaffolds, especially for processes during the control phase. This review also shows that studies have paid little attention to scaffold designs, learner characteristics, or various task characteristics, despite the fact that these variables have been found to have a significant influence. We conclude with the implications of our results on future design and research in the field of SRL using CBLEs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Supporting self-regulated learning in computer-based learning environments: systematic review of effects of scaffolding in the domain of science education

In the present study, we reject the view that computer use can be studied as an isolated variable in a learning environment. Our main objective is to develop an instrumental tool to measure different types of educational computer use in the classroom. This builds on a comprehensive review of the literature about computer use in education. This review helped to construct a questionnaire to identify a typology of computer use in primary education. In addition, the questionnaire was enriched by input of experts in this field. The questionnaire was presented to a sample of 352 primary school teachers. The input from a first subsample was used to carry out an exploratory factor analysis; the second subsample was used to verify the identified factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis. A three-factor structure of computer use in primary education was identified: ‘the use of computers as an information tool’, ‘the use of computers as a learning tool,’ and ‘learning basic computer skills’. The three-factor structure was confirmed in the confirmatory factor analysis. The results underpin a number of meaningful differences in the current practice of computer use in primary education.

/pdf/towards-a-typology-of-computer-use-in-primary-education-2awa9l526d.pdf

J. van Braak

Papers

Technological pedagogical content knowledge – a review of the literature

The impact of primary school teachers' educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers

A Multidimensional Approach to Determinants of Computer Use in Primary Education: Teacher and School Characteristics.

Supporting self-regulated learning in computer-based learning environments: systematic review of effects of scaffolding in the domain of science education

Towards a Typology of Computer Use in Primary Education.