Student teachers’ pedagogical reasoning in TPCK-based design tasks. A multiple case study

Abstract

Teachers' professional expertise cannot ignore anymore a technological component to it. Technology is nowadays accessible more and more widely, but it does not automatically translate into learning improvement. It is crucial to understand how educators give meaning to technology integration in their practices, i.e. investigate teachers' professional reasoning. The paper reports on part of a wider study on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) institutions' capability to engage student-teachers' reasoning. Within the broader multiple case study across Europe, the paper reports on data emerging from document analysis and focused interviews with pre-service teachers (N tot 36). The findings suggest an activation of reasoning whose roots might find place outside ITE influence, encouraging further research.

Secondary Teachers’ Pedagogical Reasoning for Using Technology in Mathematics Lessons: An Explorative Study

“…Unpacking PR in this manner could help shed light on how decisions are made whilst being mindful of broader contextual constrains [15]. A valuable starting point to this aim, is the use of theoretical models which updated Shulman's original PR&A process model to account for teachers' technology-integration behaviours [16].…”

“…In this regard, decades of research studies focused on the relation between (a) teachers' technology-related knowledge, often using the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) conceptual model of Mishra and Koehler [8], (b) teachers' tacit non-rational dispositions (i.e., pedagogical beliefs, ICT attitudes, openness to change) [9], and (c) teachers' successful integration of technology in learning and instruction [10,11]. However, to further unpack teachers' technology-mediated practices and their connection to teachers' TPACK and dispositions, scholars have recently begun to focus on teachers' decision-making processes in the context of technology integration [1,[12][13][14][15][16]. Within this emerging research field, the concept of 'pedagogical reasoning' is often being used as a conceptual lens to analyse teachers' technology-related decisional processes [1,[16][17][18].…”

“…However, to further unpack teachers' technology-mediated practices and their connection to teachers' TPACK and dispositions, scholars have recently begun to focus on teachers' decision-making processes in the context of technology integration [1,[12][13][14][15][16]. Within this emerging research field, the concept of 'pedagogical reasoning' is often being used as a conceptual lens to analyse teachers' technology-related decisional processes [1,[16][17][18].…”

“…These six stages include (1) comprehension (of what is to be taught, the context, and the purposes for teaching); (2) transformation (of the content, into conceptual models, learning activities, and adaptations to specific learners' characteristics); (3) instruction (the observable acts of teaching); (4) evaluation (of students' learning and teacher's instruction); (5) reflection (on classroom experiences); and (6) new comprehensions. Each stage represents a different area on which a teacher should be able to reason to make effective pedagogical decisions [16,20]. Building on Shulman's broad description of PR&A, Forkosh-Baruch and colleagues recently proposed a revised definition, defining pedagogical reasoning as 'an ongoing process by which teachers develop and articulate theoretical and/or practical understanding to describe why, what & how their practices lead to sustainable learning' [21, p.12].…”

“…As effective teaching with technology is not simply the addition of technology into existing classroom activities, but imply a considerate use of technology [22], scholars have recently started emphasizing the importance of solid PR in the context of technology integration [16]. According to recent research [17,[23][24], there is a wide variety of rationalizations underlying teachers' usage of technology.…”