Sarah Younie

Communal constructivist theory: information and communications technology pedagogy and internationalisation of the curriculum

Abstract This article explores communal constructivism as a unifying theory that encapsulates the ways in which information and communications technology (ICT) enables learners to collaboratively create knowledge. The authors review the research outcomes from several international ICT projects in the light of communal constructivist learning theory, which provides a rationale and explanations for some of their findings exploring the effectiveness of new pedagogical practices emerging in ICT-rich innovative learning environments. They argue that the term ‘communal constructivism’ conveys a meaning that captures specific elements of the additional value that various forms of ICT bring to learning environments, specifically the different forms of virtual and real community building, as well as the different ways in which knowledge is constructed, shared and reconstructed, published and republished by both teachers and learners alike. The aim of the article is to start the debate about communal constructivism as a unifying theory for aspects of ICT pedagogy, and to identify some of the characteristics of ICTrich learning environments where the authors suggest communal constructivist pedagogy is in operation.

Implementing government policy on ICT in education: Lessons learnt

This paper examines lessons learnt from national research and evaluation studies of ICT in schools in the UK. From research on policy implementation and reform in education, it is well known that change is either very slow or tends to fail. Implementation is a complex procedure, not a direct translation from government policy to practice. Alongside documentary analysis of national evaluation reports, the analysis provides a framework for understanding the implementation process, which exemplifies the structural procedures involved. Government policy has to be filtered through macro, meso and micro levels, as policy is mediated through national agencies (macro), regional agencies (meso) down to individual schools and teachers at the micro level. The analysis identified five key areas that were problematic regarding government policy implementation. These related to management, funding, technology procurement, ICT training and impact on pedagogy. Specifically these were (1) the multi-agency nature of the initiatives in the UK and their leadership; (2) funding disparities that emerged and (3) how these impacted on differential technology resourcing and procurement between schools; (4) the UK’s national ICT training programme for serving teachers; and (5) the impact on pedagogy, of which the latter to date, has been more limited than politicians had hoped. The analysis indicates that policy aims can be achieved if an awareness of the complexity of the implementation process is maintained. This necessitates an understanding of the fact that it is a fluid, non-linear, reiterative process in which key factors are dynamically inter-related: namely, ICT needs to be implemented on multiple fronts, both materially in terms of an ICT infrastructure and culturally in terms of generating an ethos that values ICT for classroom practice. Attending to the multidimensionality of ICT policy implementation aids the management of the change process at the local level of the school. This allows for an understanding of the ways in which teachers interpret policy and engage in implementation of ICT at the local level.

National models for continuing professional development: the challenges of twenty-first-century knowledge management

If teacher quality is the most critical factor in improving educational outcomes, then why is so little attention drawn to the knowledge and evidence base available to support teachers in improving the quality of their professional knowledge? This paper draws together findings from a range of sources to propose national models for continuing professional development (CPD). It examines the unacknowledged problem of providing a sustained approach to improving the quality of and access to the evidence base underpinning teachers’ CPD. In the twenty-first century, through the use of digital technologies, the research and evidence base underpinning educational practice surely could be made accessible. The quality of the knowledge base and teacher access to this is rarely if ever acknowledged in the discourses about school and system improvement. The lack of access to the latest research is further compounded by the fact that research published in journals is not generally designed around questions teachers want answered. In short, the knowledge that is produced and the management of it within the education sector lack systemic organisation and dissemination. This paper outlines opportunities for low-cost inter-linked national and international e-infrastructures to be developed to support knowledge sharing and building.

The European schoolnet. an online European community for teachers? a valuable professional resource?

Abstract This article reports on selected issues emerging from research being undertaken through ‘The Learning School’ Project – part of the European Schoolnet (EUN) Multimedia Project (MM1010). The EUN is funded jointly by the European Commission, the Ministries of Education of 20 European Countries, and the participating universities and organisations. The final report of ‘The Learning School’ project is available on the EUN website (http://www.eun.org). This article introduces some of the major issues emerging from the research on the Learning School Project, regarding pedagogy, demands on teachers, pupil learning styles and understanding change as a multi-faceted process with technology interfacing each of these components. A key purpose of the EUN is to provide an electronic network linking national networks giving added European value to the curriculum experienced by pupils in Europe and providing opportunities for teacher professional development in the European context.

Open education resources and higher education academic practice

Purpose – This paper aims to report on an externally‐funded project and forms part of its dissemination.Design/methodology/approach – The objectives are achieved through a theoretical framing of the project and an alignment of these with the contexts for the project – namely the Professional Standards Framework of the HEA, its use in postgraduate programmes of Academic Practice in England and the development of teacher resources by the IT in Teacher Education association. Findings – The result of the design process is a nine‐unit course which carries 30 credits on the English Higher Education Framework at level 7. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the paper are that it reports only on the design and production of a course of postgraduate education. It does not report on the actual implementation as this has not yet happened at the time of writing.Practical implications – The intention is for this course to be adaptable for use in a range of different contexts. This is facilitated by i...

Participatory knowledge mobilisation: an emerging model for international translational research in education

Research alone does not inform practice, rather a process of knowledge translation is required to enable research findings to become meaningful for practitioners in their contextual settings. However, the translational process needs to be an iterative cycle so that the practice itself can be reflected upon and thereby inform the ongoing research agenda. This paper presents the initial findings of a study into an international, participatory model of knowledge mobilisation in the context of translational research in the field of education. Using a mixed methods approach, the study draws upon data collected from the Education Futures Collaboration (EFC), an educational charity, which has developed an international knowledge mobilisation strategy. Through the innovative use of technologies, this initiative improves the link between research and practice by finding new and practical ways to improve the knowledge base for practitioners. The EFC has developed two work strands within the international knowledge mobilisation strategy, which utilises two complementary digital platforms. The first is the online MESHGuides (Mapping Educational Specialist knowHow), a collaborative tool for connecting educators with visual summaries of educational research from which practice can be developed. The second is the online Education Communities of Practice network, which is used to support international partnerships for collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Findings indicate that utilising web 2.0 tools to develop translational research through MESHGuides is significantly groundbreaking in its vision and scope with respect to practitioners accessing and building the knowledge base of the teaching profession internationally and strengthening the link between researchers and practitioners, thereby increasing the impact of research in education.

Implementing learning platforms in schools and universities: lessons from England and Wales

This article is based on research funded by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency in 2009, to examine how new knowledge regarding the pedagogic uses of learning platforms has been developed by practitioners in universities and schools. The research found major differences in the levels of learning platform use between schools and universities, with practice more embedded in universities, because university staff have access to just-in-time support and training, enabling the rapid building of a critical mass of staff users. The research reported here focused on 12 case study sites and found that schools were at a much earlier stage of development than universities and that development is inhibited as school staff do not usually have access to dedicated training and support. The learning platform training and support that local authorities in the sample offered to schools was not equal to that offered within universities. Major findings were that teachers want and need continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to their knowledge of learning platform uses both technically and pedagogically, but this support and training is patchy and not always available at the time of need, in contrast to provision in universities. With respect to barriers: inter-operability problems between commonly used management information systems and the learning platforms were reported as hindering development of practice. In university/school partnerships, a key finding is that access rights to university platforms by school partners and to school learning platforms by university partners are limited, which is an issue surrounding the successful outworking of learning platforms.

Translational research principles applied to education: the mapping educational specialist knowhow (MESH) initiative

MESH is a part of a research project applying knowledge management principles which are well known in other sectors, public and private, to the education sector (Leask, 2011, 2012; Leask and Younie 2013, Leask and Preston 2012). The goal is to develop and test out the new ways of working now possible with digital technologies which can address long standing improvement challenges faced by education sectors in all countries.

Debates in Computing and ICT Education

Debates in ICT and Computing Education explores the major issues teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research and evidence to what they have observed in schools. Chapters tackle established and contemporary issues enabling teachers to reach informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. Debates include teacherless classrooms; personalised learning; creativity; digital literacy; visual literacy; e-tools; learning platforms; and opportunities for lifelong learning.

Mobilising knowledge through global partnerships to support research-informed teaching: five models for translational research

ABSTRACT Improving the quality of teaching is of global concern: UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4c in the Education 2030: Framework for Action calls for high quality teaching for all. The OECD challenges the education system to improve Knowledge Management.JET’s (2015) special issue: Translational Research (TR) and Knowledge Mobilisation in Teacher Education introduced the concept of ‘translational’ or ‘theory to practice’ research - well-established in medicine but not in education.Five TR models were subsequently developed by the MESH charity’s international network with organisations in South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, Pakistan, UK. These distinct models engage 1) university staff and teachers 2) subject associations, 3) research units, 4) an international NGO working in crisis settings, 5) PhD tutors and students.Each model shares common features forming the MESH Translational Research methodology introduced in this article. A TR repository is part of the MESH knowledge mobilisation strategy giving teachers access to research summaries which, overtime, accumulate knowledge. TR publications called MESHGuides (www.meshguides.org) complement existing forms of publication. This article proposes the MESH TR methodology as one affordable and scalable solution to OECD and UNESCO’s challenges of keeping teachers up-to-date and making new knowledge accessible to teachers regardless of location.