Changing contexts: teacher professional development and ICT pedagogy

Pearson, Matthew and Naylor, Steven (2006) Changing contexts: teacher professional development and ICT pedagogy. Education and Information Technologies, 11 (3-4). pp. 283-291. ISSN 1360-2357

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Abstract

This paper examines data from a series of visits to secondary schools in England which have been identified as doing innovative work with ICT. The paper argues that stable definitions of innovation are difficult in this context and require an understanding of both the technological contexts of innovation and the concept of a school as a dynamic learning community. Data is presented in the form of vignettes to demonstrate how the school visits formed a kind of “performance” in relation to the schools’ own claims about innovations and the enquiries of the research team. Discussion of the data focuses on three key themes which emerge: the changing roles of teachers; new technologies/new pedagogies and the public face of the school. The paper concludes with the observation that innovation is necessarily complex but pupil agency and creativity should always play a vital part.