Professional Development in Integrating Technology Into Teaching and Learning: Knowns, Unknowns, and Ways to Pursue Better Questions and Answers

Abstract

Literacy for a 21st century context is far more complex than reading and writing print. As society and information and communication technology (ICT) has changed, so what counts as literacy and how a person is deemed to be literate has changed. Students from lowsocio-economic backgrounds in the later years of schooling require access to multiple literacies mediated through ICT and to teachers who are willing to provide opportunities for them to be taught explicitly. ICT can promote the learning of the content as well as learning the literacies associated with specific subject areas. This paper will focus on how three teachers in the later years of schooling (years 9-12) used technology to enhance learning and engagement of students in learning the literacies associated with their subject. They challenged the hegemony of print literacy by providing opportunities to develop students understanding, critique and creation of multimodal texts, but also supported students in achieving more effective print literacy. These teachers provided appropriate teaching for students from low socio-economicbackgrounds, engaging them in thinking, feeling and acting at high levels while simultaneously providing positive messages about their knowledge, ability, control, place and voice. Their pedagogical approach supported the development of cultural and social capital that will enhance their students' life options.

An Examination of the Changes in Science Teaching Orientations and Technology-Enhanced Tools for Student Learning in the Context of Professional Development

“…Profiles 1 and 2), we were able to provide more specifics about how different beliefs were manifested, especially in relation to beliefs across different dimensions. And, through this close examination of the amalgamation of the different dimensions of science teacher orientations in these three profiles, this research has added to the limited insights available in the literature regarding the impacts of technology-focused PD on teacher development that Lawless and Pellegrino (2007) recognized.…”

“…But, Tamin, Bernard, Borokhovski, Abrami, and Schmid (2011) found that the effectiveness of the technology interventions depended on the teacher's goals and pedagogy, among other things. As Lawless and Pellegrino (2007) conducted a review of the literature focused on supporting teachers' integration of technology in their instruction, they described how their review provided only limited insight into the types of pedagogical changes teachers made when integrating technology into instruction or the impacts technology-focused PD had on teacher development.…”

In-Service Teacher Professional Development Arrangements for Technology Integration: Some Critical Considerations

“…In supports of these findings, Lawless and Pellegrino also supported these consideration by stating that professional development programmes are usually organised in a longer duration, to provide access to new technologies for teaching and learning, to actively engage teachers in meaningful and relevant activities for their individual contexts, to promote [3], [23]. In addition, for English language teaching setting, Richards and Farrell [24] also indicated that teacher development serves a longer-term goal and seeks to facilitate growth of teachers' understanding of teaching and of themselves as teachers.…”

“…Lawless and Pellegrino [3] argue that such professional developments are critical to ensuring that teachers keep up with changes in student performance standards, become familiar with new methods of teaching in the content areas, learn how to make the most effective instructional use of new technologies for teaching and learning, and adapt their teaching to shifting school environments and an increasingly diverse student population.…”

Online Platform Support for Sustained, Collaborative and Self-directed Engagement of Teachers in a Blended Professional Development Program

“…Empirical findings and practice show that effective professional development programs are sustained over time, have at their core professional learning teams for collaboration, involve teachers in solving authentic problems related to teaching and learning, deepen teachers' pedagogical skills and include opportunities for practice, research and reflection [5]. An important factor for the success of innovative uses of technology is the availability of mentors, who can help teachers adapt technology applications to their classroom needs [6].…”