Md. Ahasanul Arefin Chowdhury :
(From previous issue)
This role includes a wide range of theoretical and practical knowledge of ICT as a tool, for example, learning theories that supports ICT integration (Deck, 2008), technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK-) (Koehler & Mishra, 2008), and understanding cross-cultural use of ICT. The third role of ‘learning through ICT’ is about using ICT to support new ways of teaching and learning in relation to situations where ICT changes the way teaching and learning occurs. For example, children participate in virtual field experiences by interacting with experts in remote and interesting location using a mixture of synchronous (e.g. offline collaborative works, bulletin boards, threaded discussions in blogs and social networks) web-based tools via the internet; or students study online using three-dimensional virtual worlds to facilitate connections, interactions and creativity.
With a view to promoting ICT supported education in Bangladesh, teacher education programmes need to equip in-service and pre-service teachers to understand and use ICT in these three different ways including ; the acquisition of ICT skills, developing pedagogical understanding of the cross-curricular use of ICT, and providing experiences of learning through ICT. The first aspect should aim to encourage the acquisition of IT skills to ensure teachers have the confidence and capability to use ICT. The second aspect indicates that teachers not only need ICT skills but the'” also need to understand how to use ICT to enhance students’ learning within the existing curriculum as well as how to design and implement different learning experiences using technologies. According to the third aspect, teachers’ professional development with ICT further aspires to introduce ICT as an integral component of broader curricular reforms that are changing not only how learning occurs but what is learned. This aspect points toward Introducing ICT as an integral component of the educational reforms that alter the organization and structure of schooling itself, through the potential introduction of distance education and the creation of virtual learning environments. The existing national B.Ed. curriculum provides ICT skills to the trainee teachers through a compulsory course called Basic Computer Skills. This course offers ICT skills isolated from pedagogical knowledge of using ICT, which means that the course does not provide theoretical understanding how ICT can contribute to meaningful learning, or what instructional strategies can be adopted to teach with ICT. Hughes (2005) argues that when learning about technologies is focused solely on the technology itself and isolated from content learning goals, teachers are less interested or likely to integrate technology into their practices. On the contrary, when teachers understand how to use technologies within their specific subject areas, they are more likely to use that technology in their classroom activities.
The implication is that teacher training programmes in Bangladesh needs to include ICT related courses for teachers’ professional development in two ways: ICT as a specialist subject, and cross-curricular use of ICT in teaching. The former approach adopts one core ICT skills related subject and the latter approach considers using ICT across the curriculum throughout the teacher education courses. The separate ICT subject provides a focus on skill acquisition, which can be more appropriate where accreditation of skills is necessary. The existing B.Ed. curriculum already contains an ICT specialist subject called Basic Computer Skills. However this approach often does not tend to provide the opportunities for trainee teachers to consider the use of ICT across a range of subject areas; accordingly it does not lead to integration of ICT within practical experiences in school. According to the second approach, ICT should be used extensively to support learning throughout initial teacher education programmes. It implies that all the courses of the teacher education and training programmes should contain a learning area of how to implement ICT for teaching and learning activities. Accordingly, the trainee teachers should learn how to plan a lesson of their teaching subjects with the support of ICT and apply that in practice. This will provide an opportunity to apply ICT skills in cross-curricular activities.
It is reported that teachers’ knowledge of how to use ICT to facilitate learning is crucial for making meaning of ICT in education (Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). Although both technological skills and pedagogical knowledge are suggested as being Important for teachers to develop, an interwoven understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) is important in this regard (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). Koehler and Mishra (2008) also claimed that technological knowledge isolated from pedagogical application is less effective in education; rather, teaching ICT skills through instructional activities is found more useful for teachers.
Teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of using ICT is related to their strategies for designing learning activities. Instructional strategies can be divided into two broader categories on the basis of how teachers identify the conditions required to make learning happen: directed or teacher-centred models, and constructivist or student-centred models (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). While the directed instructional models reflects teachers’ direct influence in students’ learning; the constructivist instructional approach scaffolds learners’ ability to construct new knowledge on the basis of their prior knowledge, In the directed instructional approach, teachers aim to transfer a set of knowledge or skills to the learners, and expect all learners to adopt these to the same extent. For example, the interviewed educators said that they instruct the students and then set them some drill and practice strategies to build ICT skills, showing they use ICT in a direct instructional approach.
(To be continued)
(From previous issue)
This role includes a wide range of theoretical and practical knowledge of ICT as a tool, for example, learning theories that supports ICT integration (Deck, 2008), technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK-) (Koehler & Mishra, 2008), and understanding cross-cultural use of ICT. The third role of ‘learning through ICT’ is about using ICT to support new ways of teaching and learning in relation to situations where ICT changes the way teaching and learning occurs. For example, children participate in virtual field experiences by interacting with experts in remote and interesting location using a mixture of synchronous (e.g. offline collaborative works, bulletin boards, threaded discussions in blogs and social networks) web-based tools via the internet; or students study online using three-dimensional virtual worlds to facilitate connections, interactions and creativity.
With a view to promoting ICT supported education in Bangladesh, teacher education programmes need to equip in-service and pre-service teachers to understand and use ICT in these three different ways including ; the acquisition of ICT skills, developing pedagogical understanding of the cross-curricular use of ICT, and providing experiences of learning through ICT. The first aspect should aim to encourage the acquisition of IT skills to ensure teachers have the confidence and capability to use ICT. The second aspect indicates that teachers not only need ICT skills but the'” also need to understand how to use ICT to enhance students’ learning within the existing curriculum as well as how to design and implement different learning experiences using technologies. According to the third aspect, teachers’ professional development with ICT further aspires to introduce ICT as an integral component of broader curricular reforms that are changing not only how learning occurs but what is learned. This aspect points toward Introducing ICT as an integral component of the educational reforms that alter the organization and structure of schooling itself, through the potential introduction of distance education and the creation of virtual learning environments. The existing national B.Ed. curriculum provides ICT skills to the trainee teachers through a compulsory course called Basic Computer Skills. This course offers ICT skills isolated from pedagogical knowledge of using ICT, which means that the course does not provide theoretical understanding how ICT can contribute to meaningful learning, or what instructional strategies can be adopted to teach with ICT. Hughes (2005) argues that when learning about technologies is focused solely on the technology itself and isolated from content learning goals, teachers are less interested or likely to integrate technology into their practices. On the contrary, when teachers understand how to use technologies within their specific subject areas, they are more likely to use that technology in their classroom activities.
The implication is that teacher training programmes in Bangladesh needs to include ICT related courses for teachers’ professional development in two ways: ICT as a specialist subject, and cross-curricular use of ICT in teaching. The former approach adopts one core ICT skills related subject and the latter approach considers using ICT across the curriculum throughout the teacher education courses. The separate ICT subject provides a focus on skill acquisition, which can be more appropriate where accreditation of skills is necessary. The existing B.Ed. curriculum already contains an ICT specialist subject called Basic Computer Skills. However this approach often does not tend to provide the opportunities for trainee teachers to consider the use of ICT across a range of subject areas; accordingly it does not lead to integration of ICT within practical experiences in school. According to the second approach, ICT should be used extensively to support learning throughout initial teacher education programmes. It implies that all the courses of the teacher education and training programmes should contain a learning area of how to implement ICT for teaching and learning activities. Accordingly, the trainee teachers should learn how to plan a lesson of their teaching subjects with the support of ICT and apply that in practice. This will provide an opportunity to apply ICT skills in cross-curricular activities.
It is reported that teachers’ knowledge of how to use ICT to facilitate learning is crucial for making meaning of ICT in education (Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). Although both technological skills and pedagogical knowledge are suggested as being Important for teachers to develop, an interwoven understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) is important in this regard (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). Koehler and Mishra (2008) also claimed that technological knowledge isolated from pedagogical application is less effective in education; rather, teaching ICT skills through instructional activities is found more useful for teachers.
Teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of using ICT is related to their strategies for designing learning activities. Instructional strategies can be divided into two broader categories on the basis of how teachers identify the conditions required to make learning happen: directed or teacher-centred models, and constructivist or student-centred models (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). While the directed instructional models reflects teachers’ direct influence in students’ learning; the constructivist instructional approach scaffolds learners’ ability to construct new knowledge on the basis of their prior knowledge, In the directed instructional approach, teachers aim to transfer a set of knowledge or skills to the learners, and expect all learners to adopt these to the same extent. For example, the interviewed educators said that they instruct the students and then set them some drill and practice strategies to build ICT skills, showing they use ICT in a direct instructional approach.
(To be continued)
