The knowledge-based economy, advances in information and communication technologies and new pedagogical perspectives all influence the need to improve competencies in the 21st century. Innovative educational ideas and concepts have transformed the roles of teacher educators and their students. Adequate technology training is therefore a prerequisite for the teacher educator to develop prospective teachers who can use new technologies to support and improve their students’ achievement gains. However, many of these efforts fail since they are mostly based on a formal, institutional delivery of instrumental knowledge and skills. Adequate technology training is a major factor that can help to promote the uptake of emerging technologies into the curriculum, which in turn benefits students (Yoon et al, 2007; Collins & Halverson, 2009; Earley & Porritt, 2014). This research seeks to add to current knowledge about teacher educators’ technology professionalisation and to provide an instrument for the purpose of mapping teacher educators’ technology learning preferences in the workplace. The technology learning preferences instrument (TLP-instrument) designed, implemented and evaluated in this research is intended to create a link between teacher-educators’ technology learning needs in the workplace and the way in which professional development programmes should be tailored to meet teacher educators’ evolving learning needs. The investigation employs a design-based research approach which is cyclical and appropriate for addressing complex problems in educational practice for which no clear guidelines for solutions are available. To collect and analyse the data, a mixed methods approach was used. The rationale for mixing both types of research is that qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2011). Findings in this dissertation and in follow-up research are intended to lead to more effective technology professionalisation programmes through suggestions for better design and development based on teacher educators’ learning needs.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:690109 |
Date | January 2016 |
Creators | Schols, Maurice |
Contributors | Lloyd, Christine ; Van Swet, Jacqueline |
Publisher | University of Roehampton |
Source Sets | Ethos UK |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Source | https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/continuing-technology-professional-development(07a1731f-420f-42ed-af16-7956aeea8eda).html |
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