The Impact of Mandated Change in ICT Pre-service Education

1. The Impact of Mandated Change in ICT Pre-service Education Ann McGrath Donna Morrow

2. Overview of the Presentation Merger of College of Education and Canterbury University Internal review driven by anticipation of the merger Course design and delivery Opportunity for research Methodology Discussion/implication Challenges for the future

3. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Merger of two institutions • On January 1st 2007 the Christchurch College of Education merged with the University of Canterbury. • By the time the College came to consider the merger it was no longer an open choice. • The merger resulted in a shift in focus for teacher educators with the emphasis on PBRF outcomes and moving away from modelling good practice – small classes, to mass lectures.

4. Background • Review of the Graduate Diploma (Secondary) was undertaken prior to the merger • Eight courses in ICT were offered to the students prior to 2006 • Students required to take only one of these courses. Positives • Flexibility and choice • Learning needs met Concerns • Choice was restricted by timetable constraints • Choice was limited by students’ own inexperience. 2006

5. 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 Evolution of a compulsory ICT course

6. The Course – Strategies for eLearning Structure • 20 hours – half before their first teaching practice and the rest on their return from schools Focus for Part 1: Building confidence using Web 2 tools, activity sheets, presentations and concept maps. Focus for Part 2: Planning good ICT supported lessons and creating effective teaching resources Assessment of the course : e-Portfolio 2007

7. Strategies for eLearning Reflections at end of the year: • Difficult to meet needs of all students • The first five weeks of the course (before teaching practice) was not situated in an authentic context • Mismatch between what the lecturers thought the students needed to learn and what the students wanted to learn. 2007

8. Reflections on the Course “Everyone who teaches this class hates it. We are all ‘twitchy’ about the content and definitely our ability to make a change for these students. I have taken to calling this the ‘pizza delivery’ approach – I offer a large selection of things – served up on a platter and the students – metaphorically (but sometimes literally) sit with their arms folded and wait for things to be shoved under their nose. “They pick and choose and judge according to their own ideas of what they think they know and what they think is important to know. How can we make them ‘see’ when they have such limited contexts of pedagogy and teaching? 2007

9. Research Opportunity • We were invited by the Ministry of Education to be part of a research project. • This gave us the opportunity to partake in action research.

10. Cycle 1 – Identifying the problem • Students were asked to identify their technology use, knowledge and skills in 3 areas (N=28) • Ownership/use of hardware such as cell phones, cameras, computers, etc. • Use of tools such as e-mail, texting, Internet searching, VOIP, online banking, photo-sharing, etc • Creation of any Web2.0 tools such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, feed readers/RSS, social networking sites, etc. 2008

11. Cycle 1 - Identifying the problem

12. Cycle 1 – Identifying the problem

13. Cycle 1 – Identifying the problem

14. Cycle 1 – Identifying the problem • Mid-semester evaluation on pace and content (N=19) • 7 students felt the course was not meeting their needs because it moved too fast • 6 students felt the course was just right • 6 students felt the course was not meeting their needs because it moved too slowly

15. Cycle 1 – Identifying the problem • Students have a varying level of skills and knowledge – and different learning needs in the class – so . . . • What teaching strategies can I employ to ensure that students needs are being met and that they are able to engage with the content appropriate to their levels of skill and knowledge about ICT?

16. Cycle 1 - Implementing a strategy • Revised the summative assessment to make it a collaborative task within a curriculum area (students were already content specialists) • Allowed the students to choose a content focus and a digital tool to design a teaching/learning resource • Depended heavily on mentoring and conferencing during the development phase

17. Cycle 1 - Observations • Mentoring was critical. It allowed us to find the ‘disconnects’ and ill-formed ideas and talk these through • The class had a good ‘feel’ to it – lots of engagement, discussion and problem solving • The final projects were amazing. Considering the short time they had the quality of the work was really high. Students were positive about the experience.

18. Group work was a useful way to tackle new/unfamiliar material. It allowed us to work off of each other strengths and ideas. Our wiki began as something we expected students to use alone to back-up classroom instruction – but it became a tool that could be used by small groups working through the speech writing and presenting process Comments from students I found this assignment to be effective as I had the content knowledge while lacking the technological knowledge. As a result I actually learnt a lot about wiki’s and how to set up and use them. It was also good to be able to bounce ideas off each other. I think this assignment made me realise how adaptable the technology is in terms of the curriculum and how useful it is as a teaching tool This experience was way more effective for me as a part of a group!

19. Cycle 1 - Reflections and Conclusions • Working collaboratively supported the students to attempt new things – and helped to scaffold their learning • Mentoring and conferencing was critical in helping the student move forward • Students were engaged and motivated • Students were comfortable with the pace and content because they set this themselves • Choice is important!

20. Cycle 2 – Action Research General Question: How can I ensure all students’ needs are met in my classroom despite the variation in ICT skills and pedagogical knowledge? Purpose: to explore my teaching methods within the course. Strategies and interventions from Cycle 1 were replicated.

21. Gathering Evidence • Initial Survey on first day to ascertain students’ knowledge – skills and pedagogy • Personal reflective Journal • Peer review of my teaching • Post course survey

22. The introduction of the TPACK Model • We did this by scaffolding their learning. We grouped them in curriculum specific groups to build on their pedagogical content knowledge but first we had to ensure that they understood Shulman’s model (PCK). • This was more difficult than we anticipated. They had been at the college for only three weeks and many were suffering from information overload. Some had not made sense of the pedagogy in their own curriculum or even begun to grapple with content. • We had to step back and scaffold their learning before the could grapple with the integration of technology into the equation.

23. TPACK Implemented • The first step in the introduction of the TPACK model was to give them an explanation and an exercise on PCK, they were able to see the significance of integrating the most appropriate pedagogy with the content. This was not a simple or easy task. • Feedback from the various curriculum groups was a useful activity as it gave the other groups new ideas, new strategies and it was also an opportunity for them to justify their use of pedagogical tools to support learning. • Overlaying the TPACK model on top of this was relatively easy – especially as this was supported with readings (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).

24. Making TPACK Explicit This model (derived from Shulman’s work) assisted the students to structure their thinking It made explicit not only the importance of pedagogy but also the use of the most appropriate technology to support learning.

25. Data Analysis

26. Data Analysis

27. Data Analysis

28. Teaching Journal Reflections “I am really happy with the way the course is progressing. It became clear that by scaffolding the learning, making connections between the pedagogy of their curriculum, the content, and the technology – leaning was explicit and students were more engaged in class”. “I look forward to going to class – the students are engaged and there has been 100% attendance. There is a mix of ability levels in each curriculum area but because they are working in collaborative curriculum groups, people are prepared to share their expertise and help each other. “Working with one class of 20 has given me the opportunity to really connect with the students as individuals, consequently there is opportunity for opening and honest communication to occur.”

29. ICT in education is crucial in order to educate and engage students. I can see clearly (with the help of this course) the various areas and topics that can benefit from the use of ICT in the classroom. Using a wiki with my class allows for continual connection with it even out of school.” “I learnt so much while designing this web quest – a tool that I had no idea existed before I took this course. Comments from students “If we can utilise all that technology has to offer in our subject areas and improve our pedagogy, we will engage students as they are far more technology literate than most teachers”. “Photo story or movie maker are quick and easy to use tools that capture the students’ attention and their imaginations. It is a fun way to produce theory work for classes. By incorporating new approaches such as these, we are taking active steps in keeping up with our students and their learning needs”.

30. Conclusion – way forward • Use TPACK as a theoretical framework • Make use of content specialists • Collaborative Groups • Building on communities • Choice/Flexibility • Independent/self-regulated learners.

31. Challenges 2009 • Further restructuring – mandated change – lecturing to large groups -instead of having classes of 20, we now have up to 80 • New room – designed specifically to our specifications so that we can have pods of computers (3 to a pod) to enable students to engage with the technology during the ‘lecture’ • This will also allow them to work in curriculum specific collaborative groups • Ongoing issue about relevance for the course from a student’s perspective

35. Challenges 2010 • Course Subsumed • No choice of time • More choice of content • Watch this space!

37. References • Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher 18(1), 32–42. • McGrath, A., Mackey, J. & Davis, N, (2008). Designing for authentic relationships, content and assessment in unpredictable learning contexts. A paper presented at the ASCILITE Conference, Melbourne, Australia, December, 2008. • Mackey, J., McGrath, A. & Davis, N. (2008). Issues of flexibility, choice and authenticity for online in-service teacher education. A paper presented at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, December 2008. • Mackey, J., McGrath, A. & Mayo, E. (2008). Striking the balance between flexibility and structure in e-learning design, paper presented at the HERDSA Conference, Rotorua, 1-4 July 2008. • Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teacher College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. • Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.