Adopting an Online Curriculum Planning Tool: Facilitation for Teachers’ Thinking about Student-Centered Pedagogy and Technology Integration

Source: Journal of Technology and Teacher Education Vol. 22, No. 4, October 2014, p. 423-447.

This study analyzed the impact of a year-long adoption of an online curriculum planning tool on teachers’ thinking about content and pedagogy, as well as their use of technology in the classroom.

The online planning tool was adopted district-wide following professional development training with the purpose of supporting teachers’ development of differentiated, student-centered instruction with digital resources.
Structured interviews with high school science teachers were used to determine how teachers’ thinking about key concepts and instruction changed during the course of technology adoption.

Results showed that teachers increased their discussion of constructive pedagogical strategies and reduced the degree to which they focused on directed uses of technology.
No change was seen in teachers’ domain knowledge across the adoption process.
However, teachers with deeper domain knowledge were more likely to spontaneously integrate technology into their discussion of domain concepts and pedagogical strategies.
Overall, findings demonstrate teachers’ adoption of an online curriculum planning tool in a supported context can have important impacts on their instructional approaches.