Introduction+to+Issues+and+Practices+of+Great+Britain

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toc = = = = = = = **Introduction to Issues and Practices of Great Britain** = Where to begin? It's important to make mention of various programs such as Hands on Support (HOS) and New Opportunity Funding (NOF) that Great Britain had in place for ICT professional development. The NOF was, "A national initiative in England from 1999-2002 that stimulated a range of approaches to ICT teacher training within a common evaluation framework provided an opportunity to study different approaches to ICT teacher training within the same population of teachers," (Beastall, 2006, p. 98). On the other hand, the HOS program was a, "...model of training teaching staff in the use of ICT...In providing teaching staff with individual support on a specialist to specialist basis, HOS helps teachers' to develop their understanding of how and why ICT can improve the delivery and content of the national curriculum and thus improve teaching and learning standards," (Beastall, 2006, p. 98). Due to budget cuts, programs such as NOF and HOS have been shut down due to lack of government funding. This leaves Great Britain in a pickle so to speak. The country is required to integrate ICT into the curriculum, but how can that be done successfully if teachers are not properly trained?

Currently within Great Britain, the Teacher Training Development Agency is transforming programs so that teachers are equipped with the necessary ICT skills so that when novice teachers enter a school they are able to perform and integrate technology rich lessons and learning experiences within the classroom. However, this does not address the ICT needs of professionals already in the field. Finally within Great Britain, more autonomy is being placed upon the school themselves as to how they approach ICT professional development for teachers. So now what? What does this mean?

To address current ICT professional development within the country, Great Britain has adopted a framework to, "...evaluate teacher professional development," (Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009, p. 136). The framework identifies five levels developed by Guskey (2002 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009), "...for the evaluation of professional development in general: (1) participants' reactions, (2) participants' learning, (3) organizational support and change, (4) participants' use of new knowledge and skills, and (5) students learning outcomes," (p. 136). While Guskey's (2002 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009) is not a fully implemented ICT professional development initiative within Great Britain, it has allowed the area of ICT professional development to be examined more deeply and applied more thoroughly the the eyes of educators.

=So what's already in place? How are schools approaching ICT teacher professional development?=

Currently within Great Britain, educators identify that the "Organic" approach to ICT professional development used in conjunction with Guskey's (2007 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009), critical levels is the most effective way for teachers to translate ICT development and meaningful integration into the classroom. If professional development is structured in such a way where teachers feel training has addressed individual needs, provided successful training and time to process and create meaningful ICT integrated lessons with the support of ICT professionals, the professional development will have affected the classroom in such a way that allows curriculum to transform through the use and effective integration of technology. The "Organic" approach to ICT professional development within Great Britain allows teachers and ICT leaders to create, "...(1) a direct relationship with each teacher's beliefs, subject discipline and pedagogy; (2) active learning opportunities by teachers developing their own professionalism over an extended period of time with teachers in the same community of practice; (3) coherence with policy and standards; and (4) support for organizational change. In addition, there wasa complementary community of practice for the ICT trainers," (Davis, Preston, & Shain, 2009, p. 870).

What effect does ICT professional development have in the classroom within Great Britain? "It appears that teachers change their practice with ICT more easily when ICT training is accompanied by organizational support and change," (Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009, p. 147). Additionally, Davis, Preston, & Sahin (2009) identify what is called an ecological approach to ICT professional development. This approach recognizes the interdependence between the school, teachers, students, and ICT support. If all four of these areas can work together and partnership as mentioned in Guskey's (2007 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009) critical areas, the classroom will inevitably change to reflect that of a modernized global classroom where ICT is integrated meaningfully and teachers are supported through their ICT professional development as individuals within a larger school community. "An ecological perspective...recognizes that teachers are the key-stone species in the global biosphere of education because teachers create the space for learning and assessment within the potential chaos of classrooms and school. It also recognizes that teachers must change the ecosystem in their classrooms in order to adopt ICT within their pedagogy," (Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009, p. 873).

Great Britain's efforts to transform education through ICT professional development has been attempted and achieved on various levels. National initiatives such as NOF and HOS proved to he helpful, but both required a large amount of private and public funding, which caused both programs to "close their doors." In addition, since more autonomy has been placed upon the schools with regards to ICT professional development, it becomes a case for Great Britain to determine how best to approach ICT professional development with its teachers so that it is successful and transforms the classrooms. These approaches have included the creation of professional development programs that are delivered electronically or face-to-face, however, through various research studies, it has been concluded that Great Britain teachers feel more supported and learn more in a face-to-face environment that is hands on led by an ICT school leader, which translates to more effective ICT professional development that can be easily transferred into the classroom. Additionally, Great Britain has determined that Guskey's (2007 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009) critical levels are pertinent to developing an organic approach to ICT development thus creating an ecological realm where all parties with regards to ICT development and change in the classrooms are interdependent.

=What are some reactions to ICT professional development within Great Britain?=

To examine ICT professional development within Great Britain more closely, two educational specialists within Great Britain were interviewed using the following two questions:


 * 1) When thinking in terms of ICT professional development, from your experience what is the most effective method (Face-to-Face or Computer Guided) to train teachers to utilize ICT in the elementary and/or secondary classroom? Why? Please provide specific examples to support your answer. In addition, what area of ICT integration do you feel elementary and/or secondary teachers need more support, training, or development? Why? Please provide specific examples to support your answer.
 * 2) If given the opportunity to design a professional development program for elementary and/or secondary teachers in the area of ICT integration, what would be your ideal program? Why do you feel your design will be successful for elementary and/or secondary teachers in the area of ICT development and integration into the classroom?

The two interview responses support the perception that professional development in the area of ICT integration has been carefully planned and organized. As stated in Leona Smith's (Leona Smith, personal communication, March 19, 2012) reply there are free online trainings provided by the government to help teachers become more capable of utilizing ICT in their classrooms, but ultimately schools are responsible for creating and implementing ICT professional development and training to their educational staff based upon needs. Smith (Leona Smith, personal communication, March 19, 2012) also points out the need for trainings to be focused on the integration aspect more so than the basics of using technologies. "Teachers need more support in developing successful classroom practice and pedagogy with technologies,' (Leona Smith, personal communication, March 19, 2012). This speaks to the idea that teachers have been using the technologies in their classrooms and are aware of how they work, but that they are not quite sure how to effectively integrate it into the classroom.

Hilleard (Carole Hilleard, personal communication, March 11, 2012) felt that face-to-face trainings provide answers to questions immediately, and therefore are more effective. The government allows schools to have autonomy in planning professional development in order to better support their teachers, so Hilleard's (Carole Hilleard, personal communication, March 11, 2012) school would be able to provide face-to-face trainings if that was the decision the school community made. Hilleard (Carole Hilleard, personal communication, March 11, 2012) also identifies that the ideal ICT professional development program would be one where each educational professional would have an individual program. "A programme could then be structured to incorporate and cover the skills by the teacher. This would make a more relevant and purposeful training so that the teachers would be able to transfer this information to the classroom and be more willing to use the new skills," (Carole Hilleard, personal communication, March 11, 2012).

=What does the research say with regards to ICT professional development within Great Britain?=

When examining the role of ICT professional development and integration of Great Britain teachers, one reoccurring theme is teacher perception of ICT support. Why does this matter? In order for ICT professional development to be successful, teachers need to feel supported during and after training. Beastall (2006) identifies that, "...Teachers are not receiving the support they need in order to be able to support young people and provide them with a relevant, postmodern education that embraces technology in order to improve actual teaching and learning rather than the aesthetic delivery of it," (p. 99). Perhaps this is because of a couple of reasons such as the following: type of professional development program and the evaluation of professional development programs within Great Britain. Davis, Preston, & Sahin (2009) conducted a survey that analyzed over 638 surveys filled out by educators with regards to ICT professional development. Based upon these results, teachers feel that face-to-face ICT professional development training produces a more well-rounded approach and supportive environment which translates into better integration into the classroom versus computer based training (CBT). Additionally, Davis, Preston, & Sahin (2009) coined the term "Organic" when referring to ICT professional development training. "The organic approach was strategically and systematically designed to grow out of existing provision with the schools and teacher education provided by colleges and local agencies," (Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009, p. 864). Furthermore, the organic approach to ICT professional development integrates Guskey's (2007 as cited in Davis, Preston, & Sahin, 2009), "...five critical levels for the evaluation of professional development in general: (1) participants' reactions, (2) participants' learning, (3) organizational support and change, (4) participants' use of new knowledge, and (5) students' learning outcomes," (p. 136).