This study investigated teachers' conceptions of technology integration into their teaching from two renowned technical and vocational education (TVE) institutes in New South Wales, Australia. Thirteen teachers were interviewed using qualitative techniques informed by the phenomenographic approach. The analysis of the data revealed that TVE teachers perceived the use of technology in teaching in four qualitatively different ways: (a) upgrading teacher knowledge, (b) ease of communication, (c) effective teaching, and (d) flexible teaching. Some findings align with existing phenomenographic studies of teachers' conceptions held in the context of university education. This study contributes to teachers' conceptions literature by identifying "flexible teaching" as one of the most significant conceptions of teaching within the context of TVE teaching in particular and higher education in general. The findings of the study could have an impact on teaching practice and faculty development programs in both TVE and other higher educational institutes.
In this paper, we discuss how a university lecturer (pseudonym: James) drew on his technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) when planning to integrate technology in teaching. The main purpose of the study was to use real-life planning observations to understand James's TPACK. The data were obtained through think-aloud sessions in which James planned a course that is offered to undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) students in a research-intensive Australian university. Chi's (1997) verbal analysis method was used to analyse verbal qualitative data. The results indicate that a different set of knowledge domains underpinned James's decisions in each different episode of his planning sessions giving his TPACK a dynamic and context-sensitive nature. We suggest observations of teachers when making actual planning decisions as one of the preferred methods to understand the nature of their TPACK. The study introduces a new approach in understanding how this teacher's TPACK looks when he drew on various domains of knowledge, by visually presenting the combinations made among knowledge domains.
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