Integrating educational technologies into teacher education: A

case study
Peter Rawlinsa and Benjamin Kehrwaldb
a
Institute of Education, Massey University, New Zealand; bLearning and Teaching Unit,
University of South Australia, Australia

Postal Address
Institute of Education,
Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

This article is a case study of an integrated, experiential approach to improving pre-service

teachers’ understanding and use of educational technologies in one New Zealand teacher
education programme. The study examines the context, design and implementation of a
learning activity which integrated student-centered approaches, experiential learning,
authenticity and the particular needs of the New Zealand school curriculum to foster pre-
service teachers’ learning about educational technologies as both pedagogical tools, and as
'disruptive' forces which can promote the re-imagining of existing practices. Evaluation data
are used to highlight support for an integrated approach to the use of educational technologies
outlined in the case in question.

Keywords: educational technologies; teacher education; experiential learning; professional

learning; blended learning.

Introduction
Personal computing devices and the networks which connect them offer teachers
opportunities to expand their teaching repertoires. They support alternatives to didactic
presentation methods, move teaching beyond the limits of classroom spaces, and grant access
to socially and geographically isolated learners. Despite this, teachers are confronted by
limitations to the integration and use of technology in teaching (Wyld, 1996). In particular,
teachers may lack experience with the integration of technology into teaching (Hughes, 2005;
Schrum, 1999), including experience with new and emerging tools; learning experience in
active, social learning situations; training with 'non-traditional' teaching and experience with
successful technology-enhanced teaching.
This paper focuses on a response to the problem of limited teacher experience with
educational technologies through an examination of an integrated, experiential approach to
educational technologies in one pre-service teacher education programme in New Zealand.
The case study in question examines the design and implementation of a specific learning
activity designed to give pre-service teachers first-hand experience with the application and
use of educational technologies as both pedagogical tools, and as ‘disruptive’ forces which

 Corresponding author. Email: p.rawlins@massey.ac.nz

promote the re-imagining of existing practices (Laurillard, 2002). Notably, the study focuses
not on the technology itself, but rather on the thoughtful design of a learning activity that
engages students in the purposeful use of technology to solve authentic problems. The
presentation overviews the context of the teacher education program, outlines design
considerations, describes the resulting learning activity and discusses the key outcomes of the
activity via evaluation results and student testimony. The conclusions highlight the strengths
of the particular integrated, experiential approach taken in this case. It is argued that
experiential learning with and through technology is a powerful way to engage new teachers
with innovative practices which make the most of educational technologies and promote
innovation in schools-based education.

Case description

Context
The learning activity discussed in this article is part of a one year Graduate Diploma level
initial teacher education programme for secondary school teachers at one University in New
Zealand, The programme is underpinned by the view that teaching and learning are dynamic
processes. Learning to teach is seen as a journey towards a synthesis of theory and practice
through knowledge, understanding, reflection, and integration.

Posing the problem

In 2007, a review identified a number of key recommendations for improving the
programme. In particular, the review report argued for increased attention to the modelling
of good practice; greater recognition of new knowledge about on-line pedagogies and ICT in
its widest application; and recognition of new knowledge and understandings about teaching
and learning in the Secondary Sector. As part of a response to these recommendations, the
programme teaching team designed, developed and implemented a new unit of work focused
on explicitly addressing the need for students to acquire knowledge and skills with
technology, incorporate adult learning principles, link to authentic problems from the NZ
secondary schools context and provide modelling of good practices with educational
technologies. This response was guided by three key considerations in the design and
development of the unit of work which is at the heart of this study.

The approach to teaching within the programme

The first consideration in the design and development of the unit was the particular
pedagogical commitments of the program and the extent to which these provided students
with access to models of good practice. The Graduate Diploma programme emphasises
cognitive and sociocultural perspectives that value socially constructed knowledge and
authentic learning experiences. These perspectives increasingly recognise the situated nature
and interpersonal dimension of knowledge, and the impact of the social environment in
promoting and directing learning (Sfard, 2003). A focus on the learner and what he/she does
as part of learning activity are fundamental to this view. Also central is the notion of a
‘community of practice’ in which participation in the cultural practice of the community
gives structure to acquisition of knowledge. (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Accordingly, learning is
conceived as social activity in which people develop understanding through interaction, and
knowledge is distributed amongst the group. The learner both shapes and is shaped by the
community of practice. The dynamic interplay between the individual learner, the social unit
he/she works within and the context of the activity create a myriad of possible learning
situations. Rather than asking what kinds of cognitive processes and conceptual structures
are involved in learning, sociocultural perspectives ask “what kinds of social engagements
provide the proper context for learning to take place” (Even & Tirosh, 2002, p. 232).

Key competencies as an authentic problem

The second consideration in the design and development of the unit was the selection of a
particular authentic problem context for the unit and associated tasks. In order to concretise
the abstract of sociocultural approaches for students, an effort was made to surround these
prospective teachers with authentic educational problems—those derived from or closely
linked to ‘real world’ teaching—that could be identified, analysed, and solved by applying
their developing understandings of effective teaching. The activity described below provided
this context in the form of one of the challenges currently facing New Zealand schools as
they implement a new national curriculum: incorporation of ‘key competencies’ into their
school curriculum.
In 2007, New Zealand introduced a new curriculum for the compulsory school sector.
In addition to defining the content in the eight learning areas, the New Zealand Curriculum
(NZC, Ministry of Education, 2007) incorporates a set of ‘key competencies’—(a) thinking;
(b) using languages, symbols, and texts; (c) managing self; (d) relating to others; and (e)
participating and contributing—designed to prepare school students to live and participate as
educated citizens in contemporary and future societies. The NZC does not intend that these
key competencies be ‘taught’ directly. Rather, it is intended that students will develop the
key competencies through participation in normal school activities, emphasising that the
pedagogies adopted by teachers and the nature of the learning experiences are essential parts
of a student’s school experience.
Teachers are confronted by a number of questions associated with the implementation
of this policy document: What sort of learning experiences should school students have that
will effectively encourage the development of the key competencies within subject oriented
curricula? What changes are implied for the traditional role of the teacher? What changes
to in-service and pre-service professional development will be needed to prepare teachers for
the challenges of the introduction of key competencies into the curriculum? These challenges
provided an authentic problem context for our pre-service teachers to examine educational
technologies as a pedagogical tool to explore ‘new’ (or less traditional) approaches to
teaching. The question of how to create learner experiences which promote the development
of the key competencies became the focus of an integrated approach to the use of educational
technologies and purposeful experimentation around active learning by the pre-service
teachers in our programme.

The role of educational technologies

Following the previous points about active, social approaches to learning within the
programme, networked computing and communications technologies are being used in
educational programmes to promote an active approach to learning which is situated in, or
linked to, authentic contexts (see, Steeples & Jones, 2002; Barab, Kling & Gray, 2004;
Conole & Oliver, 2007). When technology-enhanced learning situations include highly
flexible, convenient communication provided by email, instant messaging, asynchronous
discussion, or synchronous conferencing, they can create powerful combinations of context,
communication, and purposeful activity which enhance the learning experience. Learners are
able to use technology not only to learn about particular content, but learn to do particular
content specific tasks and learn to be practitioners by assuming certain specialist roles in
context (Brown & Duguid, 2000).
Historically, students’ learning about educational technologies within the programme
had been addressed through a single unit of work late in the one year programme. That unit
made links between theories of learning and uses of technology, but tended to be a series of
de-contextualised activities introducing students to applications such as Power Point, the
World Wide Web, and the use of digital media. Material was presented in demonstrations
where examples of technological tools to enhance student engagement were presented, or
merely talked about without the students being asked to work with, create, or actively use
such tools. There was no apparent recognition of prior knowledge, and little opportunity for
the students to link information about educational technologies to either: a) their emerging
knowledge and skills related to teaching, or b) their experiences as learners in a technology-
enhanced learning situation. The students were exposed to potentially powerful tools
without proper attention being paid to how they might integrate these tools into their own
teaching in order to enhance their future students’ learning.

Design principles
The design of the new learning activity, therefore, considered three key principles. Firstly,
consistent with sociocultural principles, the design sought to promote learning through
purposeful activity and participation in a social unit. The activity allowed students to
experience an example of ‘student centred learning’ by providing them with a broad
assignment brief and the freedom and time to meet that brief in a way that they felt was
appropriate. Secondly, the activity was designed to highlight the value of an authentic
context for learning by drawing upon a problem currently facing school. In this case, the
authentic problem was the incorporation of the key competencies into day-to-day teaching.
Thirdly, the activity was designed to expose pre-service students to a learning experience
where technology was an integral part of the learning. This approach sought to shift the
outcomes from merely learning about technology to learning with and through technology.
The result of these design considerations was a docudrama task which provided the pre-
service teachers with experience of an integrated approach to the use of technology in the
context of a current, authentic teaching problem.

The docudrama activity

Students were tasked with working in groups to investigate a contemporary educational issue
and to produce a 10 minute docudrama that was to be presented to the whole programme
cohort. Students had two weeks of dedicated class time to explore their educational issue and
compile their docudrama. Learning within the task was conceived as a process of exploration
and conceptual work around the assigned issue, creative work to present a key aspect of the
issue and practical skills development related to the use of digital media and technology
associated with the production of the video docudrama. Consistent with activity theory,
students' work was supported through a combination of roles, rules and tools which
structured activity and allowed individuals and groups to explore the topic within the
boundaries of the task (Hung & Chen, 2002). The task design required students to decide
when and where they would like to work on this activity. While groups were free to divide
labour amongst the members, students with experience with video editing assigned particular
peer support roles within the overall activity. All groups worked within a broad framework
of 'rules' in the form of a broadly defined process, including key milestones and requirements
for the final submission. Progress was monitored at two milestones meetings with the
teaching team. Students had access to tools including institutional and personal technology
(digital cameras, computers with video editing software), human resources, such as the
teaching staff or peer support, and information resources in the university library. Notably,
there was no direct teaching of either how to use the technology or how to go about designing
the docudrama. Students were asked to work within the broad parameters of the task, make
used of the available resources, and manage particular activities within their groups. These
video presentations were presented at the end of term and peer marked by the rest of the
students.
In terms of the design principles identified above, the docudrama learning activity
was structured to promote a sociocultural approach to learning in a community of practice-
like situation focused on the practice of school teachers and a particular authentic learning
problem, namely the integration of key competencies into teaching. Technology was used as
a mechanism to support and structure participant work and provide flexible means to produce
a response to the task.

Methodology
At the end of the year, students were surveyed about their experiences to review the
effectiveness of this new activity. The survey used a mixture of four point Likert scales with
additional comment boxes, and open-ended questions. Questions on the survey were
designed to be consistent with the three design principles of the learning activity, e.g., To
what extent did the use of technology facilitate a learning environment which encouraged
collaboration and knowledge construction? Similar questions asked them about any
anxieties about using technology that they may not have been familiar with, and whether
these anxieties had affected their engagement with the activity. Questions were also asked
about students’ perception of the student centred design of the project, e.g., By design, the
docudrama task was open-ended and we did not teach you anything unless you asked us to.
(for example, how to use the editing tools, or how to do a storyboard). Did you feel this was
an effective approach? Students were also asked about the use of an authentic context for
learning— namely the development of the key competencies in the NZC—and whether they
could see themselves using a similar activity in their classroom.
To comply with the university’s code of ethical conduct of research, the survey was
conducted after the completion of the course, resulting in the response rate being lower than
hoped (n=28 out of a possible 52). Accordingly, although not generalisable, the findings
presented here are indicative of the overall positive alignment of this activity with its design
principles and foreshadow recommendations about how to apply similar design
considerations to other learning tasks.

Results and discussion

The findings of the survey are organized around the three design principles described above.
Sociocultural approaches

The first design principle was to allow students to experience a community of practice
situation consistent with socio-cultural principles of learning. Such an environment
recognises that learning is an active and social process in which people develop their thinking
through shared enterprise. One of the features of the activity was that students were not
given direct instruction on how to approach the activity, or on any aspects of the technology
they might use, prior to the commencement of the activity. This strategy encouraged students
to collectively construct new knowledge in a collaborative environment.

It's great, I would've hated having to sit there and 'learn properly' - would much rather just get
into it and learn by doing. That's how I (and most people) learn to use new technology
anyway.

It was great to not make us sit down and tell us step by step how to use the editing software.

Would not have been as valuable if we hadn't had to find out for ourselves.

Great to just to discover how things work, very interactive.

Really enjoyed it! Was a great way to let us go away with little instruction having the freedom
to do anything.

We are diverse learners and are capable of doing things for ourselves now, so I liked the fact
that we were left to do what we wanted to.

Staff were available to help with any technical aspects of the project and students accessed
these services according to their individual needs.

It worked well, we dabbled with things and when our wheels fell off or we hit a brick wall,
our tutors were easy to get hold of and were down to the lab asap to help.

A number of the students had personal experience of editing software and we

specifically asked them to teach other students how to use it rather than doing the editing
themselves. We noted that students from other groups were often asking these ‘experts’ to
help them, rather than the teaching staff, thereby assuming responsibility for their learning as
a group. We encouraged such behaviour as it embodied a value on students' knowledge and
experience and served to break down the more traditional view of the teacher as the only
expert.

Authenticity
The second design principle for the activity was that it would highlight the value of an
authentic context for learning by examining a problem currently facing schools: namely, how
to develop key competencies in their students. Rather than examining this via familiar
process of lecture and discussion, students undertook an activity designed to illustrate how
this might be achieved through the use of a learning activity consistent with sociocultural
perspectives. In the evaluation, students were asked how relevant they felt the docudrama
activity was to developing the various key competencies. In general, the responses were
supportive of the development of the key competencies amongst the participants, particularly
in relating to others, participating and contributing and managing self thinking. Their
responses are illustrated in the table below.
Insert Table 1 About here

We had intended students to recognise the potential of the activity by experiencing the
learning themselves. Many of students commented on the development of these key
competencies in themselves, particularly ‘relating to others’ and ‘participating and
contributing’.

We could not break the assignment into smaller parts manageable for individual work, so it forced us to
work together to complete the tasks. I liked it; it forced everyone to get along with one another.

It showed how effective co-operative learning could work.

Working in a team - This was a challenge but gave an opportunity for all of us to work together at a
very stressful time of the course.

Forced us to work as a group and work through differences.

Notably, students’ prior experience of group work had tended to be on projects where
the task could be divided up amongst the members of the group who worked individually,
only coming together immediately prior to the submission date to compile the assignment.
This project differed in that the members of the group had to fulfil a large number of
interdependent roles. They had to be writers, actors, camera operators, editors and producers.
This approach resulted in increased sharedness in the ownership of the various parts of the
activity and of the resulting presentation. Students shared responsibilities for each part, often
taking on multiple roles within the team.
Students were also asked about their potential use of similar activity in their future
classrooms to help develop the key competencies in their own students. Two thirds of the
students said that they would ‘probably’ use a similar activity with the other third saying that
they would ‘definitely’ use such an activity. No students said that they would ‘probably not’
or ‘definitely not’ use a similar activity. These results indicate that the use of an authentic
context for learning which incorporated a learner-centred approach to learning via experience
was seen as relevant and valuable.

Use of technology
The third design principle was that the activity should demonstrate the potential of
educational technologies as a pedagogical tool by giving the students an authentic learning
experience which allowed them to learn through working with the various technologies
involved in the task to develop knowledge and skills via experience. A key feature of this
principle was to demonstrate the power of educational technologies as disruptive to
established (or familiar) ways of working. The use of educational technologies provided
opportunities for the students to experience a technology-enhanced learning situation which
embodied the shift from traditional teacher and student roles and activities to more flexible,
‘learner-driven’ learning situations. It encouraged them to be creative and experimental. The
use of online help resources allowed students to solve their own problems rather than ask the
teacher. Online content resources allowed students to undertake richer background research
for their issue and to incorporate this easily into their docudrama. Students with experience
editing digital video were able adopt the role of the peer-teacher within the community of
learners. Students could film, reflect on, and reshoot parts of their docudrama as necessary
encouraging “reflective thought and action” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 34).
Results from the survey indicate that students found that the use of technology was
either ‘effective’ (E) or ‘highly effective’ (HE) at facilitating a learning environment that:
encouraged collaboration (E=42%, HE=50%), encouraged knowledge construction (E=58%,
HE=42%), or challenged them (E=42%, HE=58%). All of the students rated this approach as
being ‘highly effective’, with 72% of the students reporting that they were ‘highly engaged’
in the activity: the remaining students being ‘moderately engaged’. Furthermore, 83% of the
students felt that the design of the activity enabled them to interact creatively with the
material. Students commented that they found the activity to be highly enjoyable, engaging
and a great way to learn.

Such a great idea, still buzzing. The editing process was very creative!

Was a great way to learn

Yes! This was by far the best activity this year.

Also learnt about educational issues and discovered some acting talent... might even join a drama group
for fun now...

I liked being able to be creative and do something a little out of the comfort zone for me. I discovered
things about myself, and my friends, along the journey of making the doco.

This enthusiasm extended beyond the content of the docudrama to include learning about
learning in a technology-enhanced situation. In addition to learning through the use of
technologies, students also reported that they learnt how to use particular pieces of
technology.

I now know how to use my own computer!!

Fantastic experience... I am very confident with Mac and iMovie now - I was not before this.

Although students expressed a range of levels of anxiety about using the technology,
two thirds of the students reported that their anxiety levels did not affect their engagement
with the activity with no students saying that it prevented them from engaging with the
activity. Overcoming discomfort with technology served as an illustration of how potential
barriers can be turned into opportunities for learning. During their careers, teachers will face
challenges for which they may feel under-equipped, potentially leading to anxiety and a lack
of engagement. Similarly, the secondary school students in their classes may have anxieties
about the learning they are undertaking. As such, this activity served as a positive experience
of overcoming such anxieties, potentially enhancing efficacy generally, and particularly
enhancing efficacy in the use of technology as a pedagogical tool.

Conclusion
This article has taken the position that thoughtful design and implementation of learning
activities which integrate an authentic, experiential approach to the use of educational
technologies has the potential to create contemporary educational environments that support
alternatives to traditional teaching and learning methods. However, the inclusion of
educational technologies does not necessarily lead to the creation of such environments. The
use of computer-assisted presentations—such as those with Power Point, web-based video
and other multimedia—or the presence of computing devices—including notebooks, tablets
or smartphones—in the classroom will not necessarily change the underlying nature of the
learning environment or the pedagogies of the teacher. Rather, there is a need to
reconceptualise approaches to create learning environments which make the best use of the
available technologies.
The article has examined the case of one particular learning activity and the design,
development and implementation of that activity to address the particular needs of pre-service
teachers in one teacher education program in New Zealand. Despite the specific and situated
nature of the case in question, there are important implications for teacher education in
similar contexts. Namely, there is a role for initial teacher education programmes in
preparing the next generation of teachers to work in increasingly technology oriented schools.
We have argued for an experiential dimension in teacher education and the use of authentic
situations and problems drawn from teachers’ work in schools to illustrate the transformative
potential of educational technologies. The particular learning activity described in this article
was designed to be disruptive to pre-service teachers’ conceptions of teacher and learner
roles, and active approaches to learning in authentic contexts. In turn, this promoted the re-
imaging of existing practices by providing pre-service teachers with a successful learning
experience through the use of alternatives to traditional teaching and learning practices. To
achieve this, three core principles were adopted in the design of the docudrama activity: (a)
to provide pre-service teachers with an experience of educational technology as an integral
part of the learning; (b) for students to experience an example of what ‘student centred
learning’ might look like; and (c) to highlight the value of authentic contexts for learning.
Results from the evaluation survey indicate that the design of the docudrama activity
contributed to participants’ learning about how educational technologies help support
alternatives to traditional teaching and learning practices. The student-centred design of the
activity helped to create a learning environment where social engagement and co-
construction provided an effective context for learning. The use of an authentic context in the
learning activity was seen as a relevant and engaging way of illustrating the potential for
educational technologies as pedagogical tools, helping to create learning environments
consistent with sociocultural principles of learning. These findings lend support to the
contention that the activity was at least partially successful in fostering a set of dispositions
toward both use of technology and the pre-service teachers’ own abilities to deal with
challenging tasks, adapt and use resources at their disposal and learn from experience. Newly
qualified teachers are entering an educational sector that is changing at an ever-increasing
rate. As such, teachers’ practices must continually develop to address the changing and
emergent needs of contemporary learners. Developing discrete skills that quickly become
outdated is not as important as engendering a set of dispositions towards adapting their
pedagogical practices in rapidly changing professional contexts. Toward this end,
educational technologies are powerful pedagogical resources, potentially allowing teachers to
help students learn in fundamentally different ways.

Notes on contributors

Peter Rawlins is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Massey University, New Zealand.
His experience includes 18 years as a secondary school teacher. His research areas include formative
assessment, learner’s perspective of mathematical learning, and the use of blended delivery in teacher
education programmes.
Benjamin Kehrwald is an online learning specialist with the University of South Australia. His
research interests centre on social learning, with a particular focus on technology-mediated social
processes and institutional approaches to technology-enhanced learning.

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