How different are ICT-supported pedagogical practices from extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers?

Education and Information Technologies, May 2009

This paper aims to understand the differences between characteristics of ICT-supported pedagogical practices of grade 8 science teachers of extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. The differences of the pedagogical practices are described in terms of innovative and traditionally important practice orientations. The innovative practice orientation reflects a demand for education in an information society (e.g. communication skills; ability to learn at own pace), while the traditionally important practice orientation (e.g. subject-matter knowledge) reflects teaching and learning in an industrial society. The purpose of this study was to explore differences between the ICT-supported pedagogical practices of extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. As part of the SITES 2006 study extensive ICT-using science teachers nominated their most satisfying pedagogical practice. Perceived student outcomes and teaching practices have been analyzed using the SITES 2006 database. In addition, the regular pedagogical practices of these science teachers were, using the SITES 2006 database, compared with the regular pedagogical practices of non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. The results show that although traditionally important practices within the context of ICT are still dominant in science education, changes in the equilibrium between traditionally important and innovative practice orientations are taking place across educational systems.

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How different are ICT-supported pedagogical practices from extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers?

Joke Voogt 0 ) University of Twente , P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands This paper aims to understand the differences between characteristics of ICT-supported pedagogical practices of grade 8 science teachers of extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. The differences of the pedagogical practices are described in terms of innovative and traditionally important practice orientations. The innovative practice orientation reflects a demand for education in an information society (e.g. communication skills; ability to learn at own pace), while the traditionally important practice orientation (e.g. subject-matter knowledge) reflects teaching and learning in an industrial society. The purpose of this study was to explore differences between the ICT-supported pedagogical practices of extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. As part of the SITES 2006 study extensive ICT-using science teachers nominated their most satisfying pedagogical practice. Perceived student outcomes and teaching practices have been analyzed using the SITES 2006 database. In addition, the regular pedagogical practices of these science teachers were, using the SITES 2006 database, compared with the regular pedagogical practices of non-extensive ICT-using science teachers. The results show that although traditionally important practices within the context of ICT are still dominant in science education, changes in the equilibrium between traditionally important and innovative practice orientations are taking place across educational systems. - society the main focus of education is to contribute to the development of factual and procedural knowledge, in the information or knowledge society the development of conceptual and meta-cognitive knowledge is increasingly considered important (Anderson 2008). This change should have implications for our education systems. There is a need to drastically change curricula so that students develop competencies which are often not addressed in the industrial societys curricula, but are needed in the 21st century (e.g. Anderson 2008; Voogt and Pelgrum 2005). According to the European Commission, for instance, all citizens of the European Union should have the opportunity to acquire a number of so called key skills, which include digital literacy and higher-order skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and project management (European Commission 2002). Key skills are often also referred to as lifelong learning competencies. The education ministers of OECD countries (OECD 2004) embraced the concept of lifelong learning, which covers all purposeful learning activities in a persons life. A major feature of lifelong learning is developing meta-cognitive knowledge and skills. Developments in the learning sciences (see, for example, Bransford et al. 2000) show the benefits of learner-centered forms of instruction. Students are expected to be more actively involved in their own learning process, which asks for different teaching strategies and a change in the responsibilities that students and teachers traditionally have held within the learning process. These findings from research are consistent with the importance policymakers attach to lifelong learning and learning-to-learn competencies. Voogt (2003), based on a review of the literature, projected pedagogical approaches consistent with the expectations and values of the information society and showed how these might differ from those consistent with the expectations and values of the industrial society (see Table 1). According to Voogt the pedagogical approaches which are expected to be important in the Table 1 Overview of pedagogy in an industrial society versus an information society (source Voogt 2003) Less (pedagogy in an industrial society) More (pedagogy in the information society) information society have, amongst others, more to do with providing variety in learning activities, offering opportunities for students to learn at their own pace, encouraging collaborative work, focusing on problem-solving, and encouraging student involvement in assessment. Voogt (2003) argues that education needs to find a new balance between the pedagogical approaches that are considered useful in the industrial society and those that are deemed relevant for the information society. For the present study, however we make a distinction between the two pedagogical approaches. IEA conducted from 1998 till 2006 the Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES). This study consisted of three modular studies with the purpose to study to what extent and how education is responding to the requirements of the information society, and how ICT is impacting on these changes. Several terms have been used in the three SITES studies to distinguish between educational practices that are associated with the information society and the industrial society respectively. An overview of the terminology used in the different SITES studies (...truncated)


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Joke Voogt. How different are ICT-supported pedagogical practices from extensive and non-extensive ICT-using science teachers?, Education and Information Technologies, 2009, pp. 325-343, Volume 14, Issue 4, DOI: 10.1007/s10639-009-9092-1