The ‘Mirror’ ICT Use in Educational Settings

1. The ‘Mirror’ ICT Use in Educational Settings Teacher Professional Development for Tomorrow, Today, 2009 Mary Hooker, Research Manager, GeSCI, Dublin

2. Changes due to ICT Use • New technologies have been created as a consequence of scientific advance. • They cannot become autonomous or be understood in isolation from the broader and more powerful social, economic, and political contexts and dynamics (Apple, 1998; Bromley, 1998). • In view of that, as their educational use becomes assimilated, it also mirrors and to a certain degree influences contemporary socio-economic problems and prevailing educational conditions. Drenoyianni, 2006

3. Three Basic Principles For understanding the process of ICT integration in Teacher Professional Development systems: • Teacher professional learning and development are social processes growing out of joint activity. • People are active agents but they work in sites that are not necessarily of their choosing with tools that constrain and afford their actions. • Teaching and learning systems are constantly subject to change and these changes are driven by contradictions and tensions which can lead to expansive learning (Cole and Russel 2002 cited in Hardman, 2008).

4. Mirror 1 – Story telling Story telling in a conversational setting with its associations for risk-taking and permissiveness, ‘may be more likely to reveal uncomfortable experiences, ideas, issues and concerns… conditions (that) can increase the odds for productive learning’. McDrury and Alterio (2002, cited in Haigh, 2005:12)

5. Process involves The collection of significant change (SC) stories from the practice level the systematic selection of the most significant of these stories by panels or working groups of stakeholders or staff The ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique

6. The ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique ‘Looking back over the last month, what do you think was the most significant change in your practice since using computers in your classroom?’ The Kernel

7. The ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique ‘From among all these significant change stories, what do you think was the most significant change of all?’ The Kernel

8. Mirror 2 – The Change Environment

9. CHANGE ENVIRONMENT... New solutions, new model for practice ’Mirror’ of everyday practice (Historical and ongoing) Future Conceptual tools Present Past Activity system framework Facilitators Stakeholders Engestrom, 2003

10. Facilitating Expansive School Transformation Using ICT in the SADC Region: A Botswana Pilot Project Nleya, 2009

11. Does Teacher Professional Development in ICT make a difference? FIVE LEVELS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION Guskey, 2002

12. GROUP TASK: 4 STORIES OF ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN PRACTICE Mirror 2 What ‘tensions’ do the stories reveal in educational practice? Mirror 1 Which story represents the ‘most significant’change? Teacher A? Teacher B? Teacher C? Student D?

13. What about Teachers B and C? STORIES SELECTED Most Significant Change Stories

14. Teacher B – in the ‘mainstream’ of ICT integration programmes in education systems Teacher B, Object, Tools, Role, Rules, Community Tools Teacher B Object Rules Community Roles

15. TEACHER B Role What is your role in the ICT programme? My role in this programme I think is to... to help students and teachers to be in contact with Partner Programme – they have to learn something. Tools - ICT Teacher B Role Liaise between school and partner

16. TEACHER B Goal What is the purpose of the programme? I think that it is all about ICT, about computer and programmes, different programmes… Tools ICT Teacher B Object ICT Literacy Role Liaise between school and partner

17. TEACHER B Rules Do you collaborate with other teachers about how ICT can be used in teaching and learning? For now no, the teacher has a lot of, many periods, 27, 28, we are not permitted to get time to discuss about it... The high priority for teachers is to prepare notes for what they have to teach their students in their subjects... And marking, that is what I think... Tools ICT Teacher B Object ICT Literacy Rules Role School time-table Liaise between school and partner Curriculum National Examinations

18. TEACHER B Community Do teachers ever communicate with teachers in other schools? Not so much actually, not so much... But if we can discuss with the teachers, during our time, our free time, we can say, we can help each other Tools - ICT Teacher B Object ICT Literacy Rules Community Role School time-table Teachers Liaise between school and partner Curriculum Management National Examinations

19. References • Davies, R and Dart, J. 2007. The ‘Most Significant Change’ Technique [Online]. Available from: http://www.mande.co.uk/docs/MSCGuide.pdf • Drenoyianni, H. (2006). Reconsidering change and ICT: Perspectives of a human and democratic education. Education and Information Technologies [Online]. 11(3), 401-413. Available from: Springlink http://www.library.dcu.ie/Eresources/databases-az.htm[Accessed 14 April 2009] • Engestrom, R. 2003. Change lab – a new perspective to teachers’ professional development [Online]. Available from WITFOR at: www.witfor.org.bw/doc/dr_ritva_education.ppt[Accessed 19 April 2009] • Guskey, T.R. 2002. Does it Make a Diference? Evaluating Professional Development Educational Leadership [Online]. Available from: Academic Search Premierhttp://www.library.dcu.ie/Eresources/databases-az.htm[Accessed 21 December 2008] • Haig, N. 2005. Everyday Conversation as a Context for Professional Learning and Development. International Journal for Academic Development [Online]. 10 (1), pp3-16. Available from: Academic Search Premierhttp://www.library.dcu.ie/Eresources/databases-az.htm[Accessed 21 December 2008] • Nleya, P. 2009. Facilitating Expansive School Transformation Using ICT in the SADC Region: A Botswana Pilot Project IN: Workshop on Perspectives for North/South Research for ICT in Education 21 April, 2009 [Online]. Available from GeSCI at: www.gesci.org [Accessed 27 April 2009]