Abstract

With information and communication technologies (ICTs) impacting nearly all aspects of work and life, it appears to many sectors in society of paramount importance to integrate ICTs as teaching and learning tools. ICT reform efforts appear to be more successful in equipping schools with technology tools and implementing educational technology coursework for preservice teachers (although not in an universal way; regional and local disparities still exist), yet use of technology as tools to transform teaching and learning is sparse. According to recent national reports many teachers do not use ICTs in innovative ways. This study combines visual and qualitative methods to explore preservice teachers' "pedagogical perspectives" of their future classrooms as a way of understanding the students' conceptualizations with regards to ICTs. The guiding assumption of this study is that preservice teachers' "pedagogical perspectives" about ICTs can facilitate or hinder a critical incorporation of educational technologies in schools. Data was collected from three sources: (1) drawings created by preservice teachers of teaching in their future classroom; (2) transcripts of focus group dialogue; (3) follow-up interviews. Viewing these data with a critical lens using Foucault's notions of power and truth and Bourdieu's ideas of capital yielded knowledge of preservice teachers' expressed preference for pedagogy that actively engages students in meaningful ways. ICTs, described as necessary, were perceived to enable this type of learning, yet also served as symbolic capital. Preservice teachers also perceived models of teaching by field mentors and university instructors to be significant influences on their pedagogical perspectives. Based on these findings, implications for teacher education programs regarding teacher knowledge and integration of ICTs are discussed and the concept of imagined classrooms is introduced.

Citation

Williams, M.K. Imagining the future of public school classrooms: Preservice teachers pedagogical perspectives about technology in teaching and learning. Ph.D. thesis, Arizona State University. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/124704/.

This record was imported from ProQuest on October 23, 2013. [Original Record]

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Keywords

• Curriculum and Instruction Education
• Information Communication Technologies
• Teacher Training Education
• Technology of Education