understanding the relationship between pedagogical beliefs and technology use: a systematic review...

The link between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and technology use in the classroom:A systematic review of qualitative evidence

Jo Tondeur*, Johan van Braak Ghent University; *Research Foundation Flanders

Peggy A. Ertmer Perdue University

Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich Indiana University

ECER 2013 / Istanbul 1

Presentation map

• Introduction • Background Defining beliefs Pedagogical beliefs and ICT-integration

• Aim of the study

• Method Meta-aggregation

• Results & conclusion Main categories Synthesised findings

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Technology and Pedagogical Beliefs

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Technology and Pedagogical Beliefs

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Teacher-centered?

Pedagogical beliefs

• Psychological understandings or propositions felt to be true (Richardson, 2003)

• Through multitudinous experiences (Nespor, 1987, Pajares, 1992).

• Relatively stable

• Act as a filter through which new knowledge & experiences are screened for meaning (Kagan, 1992)

• Underlie teachers’ planning, decision making, and behaviour in the classroom (Fang, 1996).

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Educational beliefs and technology use

• Teachers more easily adopt innovations that align with their educational beliefs (Ertmer, 2005)

• Constructivist beliefs foster technology use in education (e.g., Hermans et al., 2008)

• Teacher beliefs associated with specific types of technology use (Tondeur et al., 2008)

> Importance of teacher beliefs > BUT a lack of clear understanding in this relationship

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Aim of the studyTo synthesize the evidence on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their technology uses

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Method: Meta-aggregation of qualitative evidence• Review study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative

studies based on the same topic• A structured and process driven approach to review quantitative

literature (cf. Cochrane and Campbell Collaboration; Hannes et al., 2012)

• Three step process (Hannes et al., 2012)

1. Extraction of findings2. Categorizing of findings3. Synthesizing the categories

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Findings > Categories > Synthesised finding

Overview of the review process

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Steps Description

Aimto synthesize the evidence on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their technology uses

Search strategy

Database: Web of Science Key words:“ICT”, “technology”, “beliefs”, ... [Qualitative/2002-2012 /Empirical studies in journals/English]

Qualityassessment

Assessed for quality using 13 criteria (Atkins et al, 2008) Exclusions: insufficiently focused on the topic/not qualitative

Evidence(Based on Hannes, 2010)

Unequivocal: directly reported/observedCredible: interpretation, plausible in the light of the dataUnsupported: findings were not supported by data

Search results

Search history Number of papers

Total studies identified by first search 92

Potentially relevant studies after evaluation of abstract 28

Studies excluded after evaluation of the manuscript 10

Papers excluded during quality appraisal -

Total papers finally synthesised [1st round] 10/18

Appraisal tool“The process of systemattically examining

research evidence to assess its validity, results and relevance” [Spittlehouse, 2003]

Question Developed by Atkins et al, 2008; based on CASP YES NO Unclear

Is this study qualitative research? 10 0 0Are the research questions (RQ) clearly stated? 6 2 2

Is the qualitative approach clearly justified? 8 2 0Is the approach appropriate for the RQ(s)? 8 0 2Is the study context clearly described? 10 0 0Is the role of the researcher clearly described ? 4 5 1Is the sampling method clearly described? 5 3 2

Is the sampling strategy appropriate for the RQ(s)? 7 0 3Is the method of data collection clearly described? 9 0 1Is the data collection method appropriate to the RQ(s)? 9 0 1Is the method of analysis clearly described? 6 2 2

Is the analysis appropriate for the RQ(s)? 6 0 4Are the claims made supported by sufficient evidence? 9 1 0

Overview of the selected studies

FocusBeliefs of award winning technology users, Designing technology rich lessons, Exploring the technology / beliefs relationship, etc.

ParticipantsStudent teachers, ELF teachers, primary and secondary school teachers, educational stakeholders

Educational level Kindergarten, Primary and secondary schools, Teacher education, Mix

Country Singapore, USA, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Ireland, …

Research method

Individual interviews, Focus groups, observations , Analysis of Mix (case studies), …

Evidence(Based on Hannes, 2010)

Unequivocal: directly reported/observedCredible: interpretation, plausible in the light of the dataUnsupported: findings are not supported by data

C1: Technology as perceived enabler to change beliefs

“In essence, computer technologies allow these teachers to practice becoming an innovative teacher as well as a constructivist teacher.” “I found out that the advantage of using the Web is that students are allowed more time to think and they are more willing to express their opinion. Through learning-by-doing, students get to think more about the topics” [S1/ Unequivocal evidence]

C2: Teacher beliefs as perceived enabler for technology integration“Higher education EFL teachers who are constructivist-oriented tend to use ICT more” [S1/ Credible evidence]

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Categories (C) accross the studies

C3: Beliefs as perceived barrier of technology use

“Like most of the pre-service teachers, her experiences as a student had been predominately direct instruction, with an emphasis on facts and ‘right or wrong answers’. Anna felt that technology was not essential to teaching and learning and believed that a whiteboard would serve the purpose equally well” [S5]

C4: Perceived barriers related to learner-centered technology use“The most difficult issue that participants contended with was the perceived pressures to meet the demands of a school system that rewards high test scores; to satisfy parents who demand that schools cater to the imperative for high test scores (…) whilst somehow sustaining a pedagogy that seeks to enable a learner-centred education” [S8]

Pupils’ perceptions, examination, time, knowledge, support, …

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Categories across the studies

C5: Non-alignment between beliefs and practice

“Although only one out of six teachers had pedagogical beliefs and perception of the affordances of computers that were traditionally oriented, all the lessons observed in this study were predominantly traditional.” [S6]

C6: Alignment between beliefs and practice

“(…) Her practices closely aligned with these beliefs. Students in her first-grade classroom kept individual blogs on which they posted their thoughts and feelings about various classroom activities (…) and on which others (parents, peers, outsiders) could comment.” [S3]

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C7: Linking specific beliefs to types of technology use

“Those teachers whose pedagogy is characterised by traditional transmission-based approaches frequently tend to use technology in ways which emphasise skills acquisition, whereas those who use more constructivist approaches tend to use technology to promote the acquisition both of skills and more open ended (higher order) learning objectives.” [S8]

C8: Teacher profiles with different beliefs and approaches towards technology “Although 14 of the lessons have some elements of constructivist teaching, the underlying orientation of the lessons were still geared towards information acquisition for the purpose of examination.” [S6]


C9: Change in teacher beliefs and technology use

“For instance, ‘L’ explicitly states that her attitude towards student activity when using technology and the corresponding role of the teacher has changed as a result of participating in the synchronous tasks (…)” [S8]

C10: Resistance to change beliefs and technology use“Although the pre-service teachers in the study had been exposed to theoretical lessons on constructivism prior to the teaching practicum, the majority of them still employed traditional approaches for their technology-mediated lessons.” [S6]

Examples of categories supported by less evidence: Role of the school context / Reasons to change (e.g. dissatisfaction with traditional approaches as catalyst to change, technology to engage students), …


SF1 (C1 & C2)

Exploring beliefs and ICT use as bi-directional relationship (see Haney et. al, 2002)

> Exposure to new theories/practice is not enough

SF2 (C3, C4 & C5)

Addressing beliefs as barriers and barriers related to beliefs and technology use (see Ertmer, 2005; Hermans et. al, 2008)

> Impact of barriers on expression/development of beliefs> Impact of beliefs as barriers on change in practice

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To discuss: (First) synthesised findings (SF)

SF3 (C6, C7, & C8)

Multidimensional approach to describing the relationship between beliefs and technology use(see Tondeur et. al, 2008)

> In-depth analysis of the nature of beliefs profiles and different types of technology use (in specific contexts)

SF4 (C9&C10)

Including teacher beliefs in the professional development for technology integration (see Sang et al., 2010)

> Making beliefs explicit> Engaging (preservice) teachers in reflective examination of relationships between beliefs and practice (design teams, communities)

> Benefits of hands-on experiences

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To discuss: (First) synthesised findings (SF)

To conclude Meta-aggregation helps to better understand the

– Relationship between studies (e.g. time!) – Reasons why intervention succeed: (e.g. collaboration) – Or fail (e.g., national policies, school context)– Explanation for unexpected findings (e.g. readiness of students)

“She explained that she was made aware of how technology could be used to engage students in learning. It was ‘‘an eye-opener’’ for her to see how technology could be used as a tool to create scenarios, tasks to engage learners in exploration and construction of knowledge, and scaffolds to guide them in the learning process” (S6)

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Bingol - IMKB Fatih Primary School

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The link between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and technology use in the classroom:A systematic review of qualitative evidence

Jo Tondeur (@jtondeur), Johan van Braak [email protected]; [email protected]

Peggy A. Ertmer [email protected]

Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich [email protected]

23ppt online: http://ugent.academia.edu/JoTondeur