Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

The repetitive ‘light bulb‘ joke works because it uses a simple task, changing a light bulb, and applying a stereotypical belief about that group of people. Attitudinal change is a little more difficult and over the years there has been a good deal of research done on the factors affecting teachers’ adoption of technology. Ed Tech Journeys has recently blogged on the 2002 research by April Luehmann. None of this is particularly surprising. The research identified six implicit factors that affect the adoption process:

1. Trust
2. Identity
3. Process Goals
4. Situational Constraints
5. Contextual Idiosyncrasies
6. Self-Efficacy

and is worth reading.

Research (and experience) show that teachers are most likely to value intrinsic rewards such as self-respect, responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment which together they see as ‘professionalism’. Helping young people to learn is the central goal of those who enter the teaching profession and therefore, educators that have adopted technology into their methodology, are often surprised at teachers do not see the benefits it brings to students’ learning. Yet adoption is intrinsically tied up with the teacher’s pedagogical belief system. They will only look and evaluate new concepts and ideas if it supports their view of how students learn and succeed in their classroom. So when mediating and facilitating change with teachers, it’s not about how many ‘light bulbs’ you present, but making sure the most appropriate ones are replaced so that every individual can switch them on in their own time and way.

Image credit: Carl Palmer

Blogged with Flock