“Please don´t talk while I am interrupting!”

Voices heard in the construction of the ICT curriculum in Iceland Allyson Macdonald LearnICT project Iceland University of Education SERA Annual Conference, 25th-27th November 2004

The study

 In all 18 schools, grades 1-10  What are the implications of using ICT for    Teachers and teaching?

Learners and learning?

The school as an organisation?

  Survey of pupil views Survey of teachers self-evaluated skills  This particular study draws on

four

of these schools and a study of the development of the national curriculum.

The approach

 Curriculum issues  Activity theory  (ICT and leadership)  Analysis  Conclusions

The revision of the national curriculum 1996-99

 Previous curriculum 1989   Revised 1996-1999  Project manager   Managament committee Subject coordinators  Preparatory groups  Workgroups Two policy committees – curriculum and IT

The structure of the national curriculum 1999

   Compulsory and secondary school produced at the same time Two new subjects – IT/ICT and life-skills Compulsory schooling 1st – 10th grade  Final goals 10th grade  Aims 4th, 7th and 10th grades  Objectives for every grade in most subjects

Data sources

    Documents – policy reports, preparatory reports, national curriculum, school curriculum Four semi-structured interviews with policy makers, one of them an e-interview Schools (four, urban, established)    On-site interviews with principals, ICT coordinators Two focus groups of teachers with six teachers each One focus group with six students  Analysis of school curriculum  On-site visits (11 lessons) Part of the larger LearnICT study – student survey, teachers’ self evaluation of skills, observations, interviews, document analysis

Disruptions in pedagogical spaces - 2003

Voices of policy – official initiatives and programmes Voices of teachers – professional and curriculum interests The construction of the ICT curriculum Voices of ICT – interests of software developers Voices of pupils – out of school use of ICT Robertson

et al

., 2003

Force fields

 Some of it relates to the competing discourses or “force fields” which operate in the context for classroom practices.  Rather our work suggests that ICT seems to rupture more fundamental arrangements and as a result changes the relationships and relations these dimensions carry. Robertson

et al.

2003

Activity theory – contradictions

Mediating tools CONTEXT OUTCOME Subject or actor Object or task Rules Community Roles

Curriculum perspectives

   Dominant perspective  Institutionalised text   Aims and objectives Learning experiences Reconceptualist perspective  Other approaches: historical, biographical, postmodern  Educational principles Individualism or traditionalism

Disruptions in pedagogical spaces – 2004

Voices of policy – official initiatives and programmes Voices of teachers – professional and curriculum interests Voices of soft ware developers Voices of principals?

School Class Voices of pupils – out of school use of ICT Voices of pupils – in school use of ICT Robertson

et al

., 2003

Observations/ Interviews Documents/ Web-sites Interviews/ Observations

Schooling – view from outside

Tools Policy makers ICT sector Pupils out of-school

Key contra dictions

Rules Division of labour Community

Voices

Teaching and learning

Principals Teachers Pupils in school Tools Rules Division of labour Community

Voices Key contra dictions

SCHOOL

 Tools -

ICT tools, facilities, teaching and learning methods

OUTCOME?

 Teacher(s) and principals

Skills, attitudes, experiences

 ICT curriculum  Rules

Curriculum, contracts, Timetables

 Community

Professional/employee, Peers/experts

 Roles

Class/subject, Novice/expert

CLASSROOM

 Tools -

ICT tools, facilities, teaching and learning methods

OUTCOME??

 Teacher(s) and pupils

Skills, attitudes, experiences

 ICT curriculum  Rules

Curriculum, contracts, Timetables

 Community

Professional/employee, Peers/experts

 Roles

Class/subject, Novice/expert

 Policy-makers  Software  Pupils  Outside schools  Inside schools  Teachers  Principals

Voices

Mediating tools – ICT and pupils

 Out-of-school ICT activities - pupils   Collaborative (e.g. games, web-sites) Communicative (e.g. MSN, blogg)   Creative web-sites

(e.g. programming, web-sites)

In-school use – pupils’ curriculum    Microsoft software Technical, transmissive Tedious!



The curriculum as tool



The pupils as a tool

Rules – school curriculum

 The published curriculum   The school curriculum Timetables    National standards School options Teaching contracts  Facilities  Access  Supervision

Division of labour – pupils, teachers, principals

 Novices – experts  Principal  Delegation  Subject leaders  Class teacher/subject specialisation

Community – school culture

   Community  collaboration – pressure 

just-in-time

vs. CPD Commitment – to learning Computers – that work!!

 Vision of the principal   Managerial Supportive  Authority

The principal’s voice

 Leadership, management and administration    New rules   New laws Technology Roles   Educational leader Manager Community  Staff  Culture

The object /outcome

    Policy-makers   Wanted a curriculum for analytical thinking and for promoting a way of working Wanted a cross-curriculum approach  Produced a curriculum which has been interpreted as prescriptive, with lists of things to know and do;  Creativity and applied knowledge and CDT are rarely found in school curricula or in practice Principals – want ICT for learning Teachers – not sure Pupils – capable but conservative

The object /outcome – the curriculum

  Twining – Computer Practice Framework  IT skills  IT for learning    support extend transform The constructed curriculum    Support, extension, not oftern transformation For IT skills, not for ICT as a tool in learning Computer skills and information skills

A cacophony of voices!

Thank you!