Planning to teach with ICT

Some insights into university teachers’ knowledge

Abstract

In this study we explored the nature and types of knowledge that university teachers draw upon when they are making decisions related to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their courses. The data were obtained using a 'think aloud' protocol. Shulman's (1987) and Mishra & Koehler's (2006) frameworks were used as an initial basis to classify teachers' knowledge. The mental resource perspective was adopted as a general lens to obtain an insight into the nature of teachers' knowledge. The results showed that teachers? decisions were based on different types of knowledge. When teachers planned to use ICT in their courses, they combined different knowledge types with context-specific experiences and projected situated actions. In this paper we illustrate three qualities of teachers' knowledge that underpinned core teachers' planning decisions: a) the linking role of pedagogical knowledge; b) relational nature of teachers' design thinking; and c) the experiential basis of teachers' anticipations.