Susan Gibson

Visions and realities of Internet use in schools: Canadian perspectives

Teachers in many countries are being expected to use the Internet in their work. Research on the Canadian experience of Internet implementation provides insights that may be valuable for researchers and educators in other countries. A three-year study, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, examined both the visions for Internet use and the realities of everyday practice related to Internet use in Canadian schools. Participants in the study included ministry of education officials, teacher association officials, classroom teachers, and school administrators. Findings of the study suggest that all four participant groups were positive about the visions of the Internet as a tool with the potential to contribute to the enhancement of teaching and the development of information literate students. The realities of Internet use, however, were quite different from the visions. All four participant groups reported that the Internet was being used mostly to increase access to information. Its potential as an innovative learning tool for students and for teachers was largely unrealised. Few respondents reported using the collaboration, creation, and dissemination capabilities of the Internet. This outcome appeared to be the result of limited infrastructure support, difficulties in infusing Internet use into curriculum, and lack of appropriate teacher professional development.

Teachers' Perspectives on the Effectiveness of a Locally Planned Professional Development Program for Implementing New Curriculum.

Preparing teachers to implement a new curriculum presents a significant but important challenge. While formal professional development programs can assist in this preparation, finding prescribed experiences that meet the needs of all teachers can be formidable and indeed may not always be the best option for promoting change in practice. Decisions about what experiences to provide and how and when to provide them need to be made in an informed manner. Studies such as the one being reported on in this article provide insights into teachers’ perspectives on what works and what doesn’t work. This research project examined how elementary teachers in one Canadian school district were handling implementation of a new social studies curriculum over the 2009–10 school year, three to five years after they experienced a formal district-level program of professional development. An interpretive case study method was used to uncover the successes and challenges of implementing the new curriculum and to provide insights into what the teachers felt constituted effective professional development for improving practice and student learning. Findings from the study suggest that effective professional development needs to be based on teachers’ needs; involve active learning, collaboration and modeling; be supported by a culture of learning in schools; and considerate of teacher resistance to change. Going forward, the study also highlights the need for a more intentional focus on the use of technology, and specifically digital networks, to enhance and extend the effectiveness of future curricular change initiatives.

Professional Learning in a Digital Age / L’apprentissage professionnel à l’ère numérique

While professional development (PD) has always been central to the teaching profession, increasingly traditional models of PD are out of step with contemporary ways of learning. Commiserate with the literature, we see the field moving along a continuum which reflects changes in what, how and when teachers learn. Following a brief sketch of the online teacher professional development (oTPD) field, we identify important considerations of emerging models of technology-mediated professional learning (TMPL). We posit the catalyst for the transformation of education, as envisioned by countless educational leaders, may lie in reimaging professional development as professional learning in a networked age. Alors que le perfectionnement professionnel (« PP ») a toujours ete au cœur de la profession d’enseignant, les modeles traditionnels de PP sont de plus en plus decales par rapport aux methodes contemporaines d’apprentissage. Nous voyons ce domaine progresser dans un continuum qui reflete les changements dans ce que les enseignants apprennent, dans la facon et le moment ou ils l’apprennent, et cette progression correspond a la litterature. Apres un survol du domaine du perfectionnement professionnel en ligne pour les enseignants, nous cernons des considerations importantes sur les modeles emergents de la formation professionnelle assistee par ordinateur. Nous postulons que le catalyseur de la transformation de l’education, comme concue par d’innombrables chefs de file de la pedagogie, pourrait etre de re-imaginer le perfectionnement professionnel comme une formation professionnelle a l’ere des reseaux.