Teacher design of technology for emergent literacy: An explorative feasibility study (original) (raw)
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Teachers enacting a technology-rich curriculum for emergent literacy
Educational Technology Research and Development, 2011
PictoPal is the name of a technology-rich curriculum with a focus on emergent literacy of Dutch kindergarteners. A case study design was used to examine teacher technology integration within PictoPal along with their perceptions about teaching/learning, technology and technology-based innovations. Observations were undertaken on pupils’ engagement and teachers’ technology integration within PictoPal. Interviews were used to examine teachers’ perceptions. Pupils’ emergent literacy learning was examined in a nonequivalent control quasi experimental design. Four kindergarten teachers and four classes (N = 95 pupils) participated in the use of PictoPal. The findings suggest that a high extent of technology integration is related to: a developmental approach to teaching/learning; positive attitudes and expectations towards technology-based innovations; and positive perceptions of support in stressful work conditions. Significant learning gains were found for the experimental group using PictoPal. High pupil learning gains were not related to a high extent of technology integration. Senior kindergarteners engaged to a higher extent with PictoPal than junior kindergarteners.
2015
Teacher engagement in the design of technology-rich learning material is beneficial to teacher learning and may create a sense of ownership, both of which are conducive to bringing about innovation with technology. During collaborative design, teachers draw on various types of knowledge and beliefs: know-what (facts, information); know-why (principles, beliefs) and know-how (ways to shape learning materials and activities). The goal of the present study was to understand the nature of individual teacher contributions during the collaborative design of learning materials and activities for early literacy. Through interviews, teacher knowledge and beliefs related to use of technology for early literacy were investigated. Thereafter, teachers collaboratively designed learning materials and activities for use with PictoPal (a technology-rich environment for early literacy). Analysis of design talk that occurred during the design of PictoPal resources showed that teachers differ in the k...
2014
The present study aims to provide insight into the value of different teacher roles in designing and implementing technology-rich learning activities for early literacy. Three cases, each with a different teacher role (executoronly, re-designer, co-designer) were examined. In the executor-only role, teachers implemented ready-made activities. In the re-designer role teachers collaboratively re-designed existing activities, and in the co-designer role, teachers collaboratively designed new activities. In each role, teachers implemented the learning activities. Ten teachers and ten classes participated in the three cases. Teacher perspectives about their assigned role, the practicality of the technology-rich learning activities, and co-ownership were measured using interviews. Technology integration was observed during curriculum implementation. Pupil early literacy learning outcomes were measured using a pre-test post-test quasi experimental design. Positive perspectives about the assigned role, curriculum practicality and a sense of co-ownership were found in the co-designer case. Concerns about practicality of technology-activities were raised in the executor-only and re-designer cases. Teachers in the redesigner case were reserved about the role assigned to them. The extent of integration of technology-rich activities was highest in the co-designer case and lowest in the executor-only case. Significant learning gains were found for each teacher role. This study concludes that involving teachers in design of technology-rich activities positively affected teacher's perceptions and implementation, and that each teacher role (executor-only, re-designer, co-designer) contributed to the effectiveness of technology-rich activities.
Teachers' deliberative inquiry into their own practices and continuous knowledge-building are essential contributors to the sustainable high-quality Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in everyday teaching and learning. This conceptual paper aims to outline a framework that provides a foundation for refocusing teacher education on ICT-enhanced innovation, inquiry and research. Initially, it explores the nature of educational innovation, the function of ICT and the role of teachers in educational innovation. Then, the paper delineates three essential elements of the framework: (a) knowledge and skill-base teachers need to effectively innovate with ICT; (b) key aspects of design-based practitioner inquiry model and (c) software architecture for supporting teachers and broader educational communities in their inquiry-oriented innovation practices. It concludes by discussing the importance of the " hybrid culture " that merges educational practice and research for sustainable and transferable educational innovation. The area of learning and teaching has recently been changing rapidly. Moving away form the one-size-fits-all approach, schools are increasingly aspiring to personalise learning and adapt instruction to the needs of subgroups and individual students (OECD, 2006). Rather than focussing exclusively on teaching of what is known, teachers need to guide learner-inspired processes of knowledge-building (Bereiter, 2002b; Fisher et al., 2006; Hargreaves, 2006). To succeed in supporting students in this open and intrinsically unpredictable process, teachers cannot rely on existing domain and pedagogical knowledge, but instead need to be knowledgeable designers and investigators of their own instructional practices (Bereiter, 2002b; Hakkarainen et al., 2004; van den Dool, Kirschner, 2003). Teachers need to be able to create and adapt their instructional practices, use robust methods of systematic inquiry, engage in knowledge-building dialogues with professional instructional designers and university researchers, and participate in advancements of their domain. In other worlds, teachers need to work as professional (a) innovators, who design and create new pedagogical practices, (b) researchers, who inquiry and assess their innovations, and (c) knowledge-builders, who contribute to the knowledge-base of their professional community. This is particularly the case when using ICT for teaching and learning. Although the presence of ICT is now commonplace in schools, its use varies greatly between teachers in quantitative terms (e.g., time); and the quality of technology use for learning is generally low (Fishman et al., 2004). While ICT-enhanced innovations brought to schools by professional designers and researchers may be initially accepted, but sustaining them beyond the time when designers have left the school, and scaling up innovations beyond the local contexts are still hard to achieve. Fishman et al. (2004) identify " usability " as a success factor: " innovation is usable if a school organization can adapt the innovation to local context, enact the innovation 'successfully', (…) and sustain the innovation " (p. 51). A variety of other potential reasons have been identified, some of which include: teacher capabilities, technology infrastructure, school culture, and organisational constraints. Given that each of these factors has been found to affect ICT and innovation uptake, the conclusion ought to be that the causes are systemic: they are embedded not in individual aspects, but in the interdependencies of different factors and different levels that make up the educational system as whole. The systemic nature of ICT-based innovations is also evident in success stories on technology integration in schools (Kozma, 2003; Means et al., 1993). Further, this argument is congruent with the literature on educational and organisational change and innovation (Senge, 2000; van de Ven, Hargrave, 2004). Therefore, in order for innovative technologies and innovative pedagogies to become usable and sustainable in classrooms, schools themselves must become more like innovation systems (Fullan, 2005) or innovation networks (Hargreaves, 2003). In particular, teachers should be able, committed, encouraged and supported to engage in systematic disciplined innovations and systematic inquiry into their own practices. In this paper we argue that, in order to make further progress with effective ICT integration, the focus needs to shift
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) may become a significant tool in optimising didactic and curriculum processes in early education. To explore how this could be realised, attention is first of all given to theoretical aspects concerning development and learning in an educational context using ICT. Then exploratory observation and interviewing is carried out with respect to literacy and computer use with pupils aged 5 = 8 in the UK. The results suggest didactic, curriculum, and software design conditions to support both teachers and pupils in early education. A prototype of relevant software was developed in a Dutch project and first experiences with children aged 4 -7 are presented. The conclusion from the two pilot studies is that ICT can be designed to optimise didactic and curricuium innovation in early education. * the number of 'teachers' available to children is increased. * time (children were unanimous in that not enough time was given to ICT in school); * resources (not enough classrooms have new technology); * access (many children are using ICT only once a week for literacy); * curriculum (ICT is not being used in literacy hour a great deal); * teacher expertise (there is a worrying lack of experience and use of e-mail and the Internet in the classroom -even when schools are connected).
Instructional Science, 2015
Despite the fact that teaching is increasingly referred to as a design science, teacher education programs devote relatively little time to developing expertise in the design of instruction, beyond lesson planning. Yet today's teachers not only plan lessons that incorporate existing classroom activities and instructional resources, they also design new learning activities and create their own (technology enhanced) learning materials. Different approaches have been tried to support pre-and in-service teacher design learning. Past efforts to develop teacher skills in design had limited success, probably due to poor alignment of traditional instructional design models with teachers' knowledge, needs and natural ways of engaging with design tasks. More recently, researchers have begun to investigate and develop ways to build on teacher expertise to support them in their design efforts. Yet to date, little has been done to capitalize on what is already understood about teachers as designers nor to draw on the wealth of literature on designers and designing outside the field of education. With the ultimate aim of supporting the work of teachers as designers of technology enhanced learning, this contribution synthesizes research on design from classical design fields, instructional design, and teachers' designing. These perspectives are brought together in an ecological framework that can be used by researchers to study teacher design knowledge and work across projects. This synthesis could also provide an articulated framework for developers and facilitators of teacher professional development programs for identifying key areas for support to teacher-designers in specific settings.
2015
Despite the fact that teaching is increasingly referred to as a design science, teacher education programs devote relatively little time to developing expertise in the design of instruction, beyond lesson planning. Yet today's teachers not only plan lessons that incorporate existing classroom activities and instructional resources, they also design new learning activities and create their own (technology enhanced) learning materials. Different approaches have been tried to support pre-and in-service teacher design learning. Past efforts to develop teacher skills in design had limited success, probably due to poor alignment of traditional instructional design models with teachers' knowledge, needs and natural ways of engaging with design tasks. More recently, researchers have begun to investigate and develop ways to build on teacher expertise to support them in their design efforts. Yet to date, little has been done to capitalize on what is already understood about teachers as designers nor to draw on the wealth of literature on designers and designing outside the field of education. With the ultimate aim of supporting the work of teachers as
Teachers As Participatory Designers: Two Case Studies With Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments
Teachers are not typically involved as participatory designers in the design of technology-enhanced learning environments. As they have unique and valuable perspectives on the role of technology in education, it is of utmost importance to engage them in a participatory design process. Adopting a case study methodology, we aim to reveal in what ways teachers work as participatory designers and define conditions that support teachers in that. Two initiatives of participatory design in Canada and Singapore were investigated. Design materials, transcripts of design meetings, and interviews with teachers were qualitatively analyzed. Case study 1 (Canada) showed that two teachers participating in software design for an astronomy curriculum contributed by suggesting new design features, introducing pedagogical requirements, and providing feedback on prototypes or design ideas. It appeared essential that teachers feel that their ideas were valued and respected in the entire process. In case study 2 (Singapore), six teachers contributed to the design of a mobile learning trail through: Theorizing and bridging knowledge building principles, collaborative prototyping, contextual inquiry of activity relevance and activity execution, and collaborative evaluation of technology integration. Teachers valued case study discussions with similar cultural contexts and visiting the learning site to design with contextual knowledge. From our case studies, it can be concluded that teachers contribute to the design processes by engaging in theoretical discussion, active participation in a design partnership, reflection about pedagogy and practice, and experimenting with enactment. Conditions that support teachers include support in emergent processes and an atmosphere of trust and inclusion.
Bringing Technology into the Classroom - One Iteration at a Time
2016
This design-based research explores professional growth of in-service English teachers in Israel. Participating teachers took part in one of two iterations of a professional development course focusing on the integration of technology in English teaching. Both iterations were designed based on a cognitive apprenticeship approach and the use of the model of Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) as a lens for teachers to implement and evaluate the integration of technology in their own classrooms. The mediating process of reflection has been added to the second iteration in the form of reflective writing. Quantitative analysis of pre-post TPACK questionnaires shows significant improvement of teachers' perceptions in the first iteration. Results of the second iteration confirm and extend the findings of the first one. The course is a promising model for supporting teachers in developing the capacity for integrating technology into their everyday teaching.
Teacher education as design: technology-rich learning environments and trajectories
2014
Traditional school subjects are being challenged by the accelerating production and development of knowledge in all domains. This creates a need to educate student teachers not only to appropriate existing practices but to be prepared to take the initiative in designing and developing new ones. This paper examines the challenges that confront teacher education when both the amount of information and its complexity are increasing due to the growing use of technology. We argue first that we need a richer view of technology than is often found in decision documents and in some of the didactics literature. We then introduce the concept of design as both an analytical and a didactic concept that links technology-rich environments and learning trajectories to knowledge development. From an activity-theoretical perspective, we approach the notion of design as a key component in teacher education and consider how it materializes through the use of a wiki, and in a new type of exam. The aim ...