A Case Study: Conditions that Support Teacher Learning as Teachers Embed Computer-Based Technology into their Practice

Abstract

The school that is the focus of this case study was distinctive. I believed that there were things we had learnt in establishing this new secondary school with its integrated DEC that might be of value to other teachers and other schools. This dissertation is a record of my learning journey as I investigated the conditions that supported teachers' learning as they embedded computer-based technology into their practices. A combination of documentation, quantitative survey and small group conversations with teachers in the study school provided evidence for the case study that was unfolding. Royce Holliday (1994) had suggested that there were five conditions of teacher learning:- Self, Personal meaning, Action, Collegiality, and Empowerment. Holliday had developed his S.P.A.C.E. model after looking closely at teacher learning in a primary school. Would these same conditions be required for teacher learning in a secondary school with an integrated DEC? Would they apply to learning in computer-based technology? Was it possible that Holliday's conditions might apply for more schools than just his and mine?