How does pre-service teacher preparedness to use ICTs for learning and teaching develop through their degree program?

Abstract

It is now well accepted that graduating teachers need the capacity to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in ways which harness their learning affordances and develop students' digital literacies. However, effective ICT integration in the classroom is challenging because it requires complex application of technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. A key challenge for teacher educators is the provision of learning experiences at university and on professional placement that will allow pre-service teachers to develop these capacities. Understanding the learning process of pre-service teachers in relation to ICT integration is essential if this teacher education challenge is to be addressed. This article reports on a study in which a group of 11 pre-service Primary school teachers were interviewed at stages through their program with a focus on their preparedness to use ICTs in their teaching. The study used a model developed by Taylor (2004), which defines three stages of teacher ICT capacity development (uncritical and accepting, beginning to problematise, and reflection and theorisation), as an analytic lens. Using this model, preservice teachers were positioned against the stages in the model at six points during their four year program, and factors contributing to their movement through the phases were identified.