Teacher Educators as Learners: Enabling Learning while Developing Innovative Practice in ICT-Rich Education

Abstract

It's time for teachers to consider themselves as learners in ICT-rich learning environments and to become more aware of factors that enable their learning in such environments. The notion of teachers as learners in ICT-rich environments is not new but the focus is usually on school teachers and formal professional development, rather than teachers in universities learning as part of the change-of-practice process. This research investigated the enablers that were identified by teacher educators as most significant in the development of their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) while transforming their teaching practice. As part of the evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies implemented to improve graduating pre-service teacher ability to demonstrate innovative use of ICT in education, Most Significant Change Stories were compiled from focus group discussions with teacher educators in four curriculum areas, English, Mathematics, Science and History. The teacher educators were provided with support, an ICT Pedagogy Officer, as they planned, implemented and evaluated innovative ICT-rich learning experiences. The enablers identified by the teacher educators as contributing most significantly to their learning are explained. Findings show that there are common themes across these enablers and that not all enablers are factors over which the teacher educator has control.