Technological Infrastructure and Implementation Environments

Author(s):  
Bronwen Cowie ◽  
Alister Jones ◽  
Ann Harlow

The integration of ICT is the apparent goal of range of educational initiatives worldwide. To date, however, the impact of ICTs has lagged behind the rhetoric. Rather than technology transforming teaching and learning it appears that teachers often assimilate it into existing practices. This chapter uses Douglas Engelbart’s (1992) notion of an improvement infrastructure to explore and explain the factors that have framed and shaped New Zealand teacher access to, adoption of, and resistance to the use of laptops. Engelbart posits that organizations should aspire to creating three levels of infrastructure for improvement: a core capability infrastructure, an infrastructure that enables the improvement of core work, and an infrastructure that enables the on-going improvement of the improvement processes. Improvement of improvement typically receives the least long-term strategic investment. For teachers with laptops improvement of improvement is what enables teachers to enhance their ability to use their laptop. In this chapter we show that this involves the system of teacher confidence and expertise, teacher professional development opportunities, teacher access to a reliable technological infrastructure, and the existence of a supportive school leadership and culture for ICT/laptop use.

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Petrides ◽  
Cynthia Jimes ◽  
Anastasia Karaglani

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge base on the ways in which assistant principals view their roles, and on the potential challenges involved in a distributed leadership model. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a narrative capture method, in which assistant principals from two large urban school districts were asked to relate and self-interpret two leadership stories through a web-based narrative capture form. A total of 90 stories were collected from 45 assistant principals. Participants rated their stories based on a set of leadership indicators (including method of decision making and type of teacher interaction present in the story, among others); the results were analyzed statistically. Findings – Overall, participants tended to view their roles in terms of instructionally focussed leadership. However, leadership challenges emerged in several areas of leadership practice, including operational management and teacher professional development (PD). Demographic factors were found to influence leadership perceptions and practices. Research limitations/implications – This study begins to fill the empirical gap on assistant principal leadership roles, practices, and perceptions. Further research, using other methods (e.g. observation), is needed to collect evidence of in situ leadership practices of assistant principals, and how those practices impact and relate to school objectives for teaching and learning. Practical implications – The study sheds light on the leadership development needs of assistant principals and on the importance of ongoing, tailored PD, based on factors including where leaders are in their careers and how they envision their roles. Originality/value – This paper contributes to nascent scholarship regarding assistant principal school leadership.


Author(s):  
Tanya Gupta ◽  
Deborah Herrington ◽  
Ellen J. Yezierski

Researchers have identified several features of effective teacher professional development. Yet, there is little research on long-term Professional Development (PD) programs that provides information on the impact of such programs on in-service teacher experiences and practice during long-term PD. A qualitative case-study approach was used to investigate the impact of the Target Inquiry (TI), a long-term PD program, on change in teacher practice and the factors that support or impede these changes. The TI program is for science teachers who wish to earn a Master of Education focused on advanced content or to complete a 15-credit certificate program. Bell & Gilbert's model of teacher development and Spillane's model of teacher enactment of reforms were used as a frameworks to examine change. Teachers reported that participating in long-term PD, when combined with the necessary tools, resources, and strategies empowered them to embrace an inquiry-based practice.


Author(s):  
Cristine Martins Gomes de Gusmão ◽  
Josiane Lemos Machiavelli ◽  
Patricia Smith Cavalcante

This chapter describes how a public university has met the challenge of changing inside the educational culture and preparing its teachers to manage online teaching-learning processes using learning analytics to contribute to the design, evaluation, and improvement of SMOOC. From the results obtained with a survey answered by the teachers, a twenty-hour class SMOOC was developed that focuses on instrumental aspects of digital technological resources in the teaching and learning contexts, as well as in the pedagogical issues, which concern the appropriate use of digital technologies. The findings of this research demonstrate that the SMOOC has been able to meet the teacher training needs, which are changing the way they work since remote education has been the viable alternative to guarantee the functioning of the university in the coronavirus pandemic period. However, it is believed that the knowledge that teachers are acquiring will contribute to changes in professional practice even post-pandemic.


Author(s):  
Tania Heap ◽  
Ruthanne Thompson ◽  
Adam Fein

AbstractFrom a design perspective, this paper offers a response to the impact, value, and application of a manuscript published by Philipsen et al. (Improving teacher professional development for online and blended learning: A systematic meta-aggregative review. Educational Technology and Research Development, 67, 1145–1174. 10.1007/s11423-019-09645-8, 2019). Philipsen et al. (2019) reviewed what constitutes an effective teacher professional development program (TPD) for online and blended learning (OBL), with our response focusing on its value and application in light of an emergency shift to digital to address a global pandemic. This paper also proceeds to examine limitations in previous research into the subject and future research opportunities to investigate important components that inform the design of a resilient and scalable TPD for OBL.


Author(s):  
Suzanne Riverin

This chapter examines the use of blended learning in an online community which supported teacher professional development in the province of Ontario, Canada for ten years. The online network which was called The Education Network of Ontario/ Le Réseau éducatif de l’Ontario (ENO/REO) used a blend of tools and some face-to-face opportunities to support teacher professional development across the province. Teachers were encouraged to use the ENO/REO environment to join in discussions, create and maintain online projects and share research and curriculum resources. The chapter will focus on a study which examined the effect of long term participation in such a community in order to provide insight into the use of blended learning in online communities for professional development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Goodale

The focus of this article is on the evaluation and outcomes of a professional learning opportunity that focused on 13 current K–12 public school science educators in the United States. This teacher training concentrated on sustainability education that utilized marine sciences as a unifying concept. Findings from this training helped to identify models within teacher professional development in marine science that lead to comprehensive adoption of presented curricula. Four established models/frameworks of professional development were identified and their subsequent classroom implementation was evaluated. Results include adoption rates of the various session materials, the impact and effect size of differing variables (such as deliverables or standards alignment) among the four models and their frameworks and changes in perceptions towards sustainability initiatives. These outcomes underscore several methods and strategies for successful science teacher professional development implementation in regard to marine sciences.


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