Teachers' Adoption of Information and Communication Technology for Learning in Malaysia: an Ecological-Complexity Analysis of a Professional Development Innovation

<p>This study explored the factors that influenced teachers' Information Communications Technology (ICT) adoption in teaching and learning, and the adoption of an ICTPD innovation by 44 teachers in four schools in Malaysia. The research focused on understanding teachers' uptake of ICT in teaching and learning in the context of an Information Communications Technology Professional Development (ICTPD) programme, which was implemented in these four schools. This in-school and cluster based ICTPD programme, which was introduced from New Zealand, was the first of such projects carried out in Malaysia. To address the study's research questions, a collective case study approach was applied. It employed a qualitative approach through the use of mind maps, factor sheets, and semi-structured interviews as the major methods of data collection. The qualitative data was gathered from teachers who participated in the ICTPD programme. Other stakeholders were also included to ensure different perspectives were acquired in understanding teachers' uptake of ICT in the context of the ICTPD programme. An ecological framework, which incorporated complexity thinking, was employed to inform many aspects of this study, from the selection of methods to the analysis of the data. This framework assumes that factors influencing adoption are complex, interdependent, and independent; it assumes linear factors and linear stages in adoption do not explain the complexities of adoption. The research revealed that teachers' ICT adoption in teaching and learning was low and superficial. Teachers used ICT as a tool and their practices remained teacher-centred. Teachers perceived that their practices changed when they used ICT in their classroom but very few actually did. The ecological framework identified three levels of linear factors (individual, school, and external). The consequent application of the ecological-complexity perspective on these linear factors revealed complex factors and dynamic interactions between teachers within schools. The study also discovered that the uptake of the ICTPD programme was similarly superficial. Teachers and schools were reluctant to embrace the in-school facilitation process and the cluster model of the ICTPD programme due to the current priorities of delivering examination results. The findings initially showed the influence of three levels of factors (individual, school, and the innovation) on teachers' adoption of the ICTPD programme. An analysis of the factors according to the ecological-complexity perspective shed light on the extent of adoption and its processes, suggesting that teachers and schools dynamically negotiate with the innovation. Two ecological-complexity models were developed to explain and understand complex factors and interactions in the two types of adoption. The ecological-complexity perspective showed that the current discourses on linear factors and processes do not fully explain the complexities of teachers' ICT adoption and the uptake of an innovation. The discussions on practical applications for this perspective in education are examined. The ecological-complexity perspective highlights the importance of re-thinking our frames of understanding teachers' ICT adoption and the adoption of an ICTPD programme; instead of thinking about adoption as an end product, it is a dynamic and continuous process, which is negotiated between teachers and schools and the innovation.</p>

Teachers' Adoption of Information and Communication Technology for Learning in Malaysia: an Ecological-Complexity Analysis of a Professional Development Innovation

<p>This study explored the factors that influenced teachers' Information Communications Technology (ICT) adoption in teaching and learning, and the adoption of an ICTPD innovation by 44 teachers in four schools in Malaysia. The research focused on understanding teachers' uptake of ICT in teaching and learning in the context of an Information Communications Technology Professional Development (ICTPD) programme, which was implemented in these four schools. This in-school and cluster based ICTPD programme, which was introduced from New Zealand, was the first of such projects carried out in Malaysia. To address the study's research questions, a collective case study approach was applied. It employed a qualitative approach through the use of mind maps, factor sheets, and semi-structured interviews as the major methods of data collection. The qualitative data was gathered from teachers who participated in the ICTPD programme. Other stakeholders were also included to ensure different perspectives were acquired in understanding teachers' uptake of ICT in the context of the ICTPD programme. An ecological framework, which incorporated complexity thinking, was employed to inform many aspects of this study, from the selection of methods to the analysis of the data. This framework assumes that factors influencing adoption are complex, interdependent, and independent; it assumes linear factors and linear stages in adoption do not explain the complexities of adoption. The research revealed that teachers' ICT adoption in teaching and learning was low and superficial. Teachers used ICT as a tool and their practices remained teacher-centred. Teachers perceived that their practices changed when they used ICT in their classroom but very few actually did. The ecological framework identified three levels of linear factors (individual, school, and external). The consequent application of the ecological-complexity perspective on these linear factors revealed complex factors and dynamic interactions between teachers within schools. The study also discovered that the uptake of the ICTPD programme was similarly superficial. Teachers and schools were reluctant to embrace the in-school facilitation process and the cluster model of the ICTPD programme due to the current priorities of delivering examination results. The findings initially showed the influence of three levels of factors (individual, school, and the innovation) on teachers' adoption of the ICTPD programme. An analysis of the factors according to the ecological-complexity perspective shed light on the extent of adoption and its processes, suggesting that teachers and schools dynamically negotiate with the innovation. Two ecological-complexity models were developed to explain and understand complex factors and interactions in the two types of adoption. The ecological-complexity perspective showed that the current discourses on linear factors and processes do not fully explain the complexities of teachers' ICT adoption and the uptake of an innovation. The discussions on practical applications for this perspective in education are examined. The ecological-complexity perspective highlights the importance of re-thinking our frames of understanding teachers' ICT adoption and the adoption of an ICTPD programme; instead of thinking about adoption as an end product, it is a dynamic and continuous process, which is negotiated between teachers and schools and the innovation.</p>

Fungal Pathogens in Grasslands

Grasslands are major primary producers and function as major components of important watersheds. Although a concise definition of grasslands cannot be given using a physiognomic or structural approach, grasslands can be described as vegetation communities experiencing periodical droughts and with canopies dominated by grasses and grass-like plants. Grasslands have a cosmopolitan distribution except for the Antarctic region. Fungal interactions with grasses can be pathogenic or symbiotic. Herbivorous mammals, insects, other grassland animals, and fungal pathogens are known to play important roles in maintaining the biomass and biodiversity of grasslands. Although most pathogenicity studies on the members of Poaceae have been focused on economically important crops, the plant-fungal pathogenic interactions involved can extend to the full range of ecological circumstances that exist in nature. Hence, it is important to delineate the fungal pathogen communities and their interactions in man-made monoculture systems and highly diverse natural ecosystems. A better understanding of the key fungal players can be achieved by combining modern techniques such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) together with studies involving classic phytopathology, taxonomy, and phylogeny. It is of utmost importance to develop experimental designs that account for the ecological complexity of the relationships between grasses and fungi, both above and below ground. In grasslands, loss in species diversity increases interactions such as herbivory, mutualism, predation or infectious disease transmission. Host species density and the presence of heterospecific host species, also affect the disease dynamics in grasslands. Many studies have shown that lower species diversity increases the severity as well as the transmission rate of fungal diseases. Moreover, communities that were once highly diverse but have experienced decreased species richness and dominancy have also shown higher pathogenicity load due to the relaxed competition, although this effect is lower in natural communities. This review addresses the taxonomy, phylogeny, and ecology of grassland fungal pathogens and their interactions in grassland ecosystems.

The Estuarine Ecological Knowledge Network: Future Prospects

Estuaries are profoundly rich, diverse, and complex ecosystems, and crucial to the overall health of Earth's oceans. Estuarine ecological complexity is matched by tremendous human cultural diversity. In the United States, millions of people live in estuarine environments from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic—many of whom directly depend on the productivity of marine resources in both commercial and subsistence fishing activities. Yet, estuaries are also among Earth's most threatened landscapes against the backdrop of global warming, sea-level rise, agricultural and industrial pollution, habitat loss, overfishing, and so on. This represents a looming disaster for our oceans at a global scale. The Estuarine Ecological Knowledge Network (EEKN) is based on the idea that fishing communities living within major estuaries are the key to ensuring the health of global oceans. Coastal fishing communities have vast accumulations of ecological knowledge about the functioning of estuarine ecosystems and interact with those ecosystems in intimate ways on a daily basis. This network is designed to connect coastal communities in monitoring the health of estuarine ecosystems and in using traditional ecological knowledge to develop strategies for enhancing ecosystem health and resilience.