Teacher Education in the Knowledge Era: Issues, Trends and Challenges

(An article for special number of University News)


Sub-Theme: ICT Enabled Teacher Education

“We must act now – we cannot wait for everything to be right – for bandwidth to increase and technology penetration to increase in schools. Many things in life can wait. But the child cannot. Now is the time when his bones are being formed, his blood is being made and his mind is being shaped. His name is not tomorrow. It is today”. …. Argentinean writer Gabriella Marcell

Higher education in the 21st century will find it difficult to survive without creating space for diversity within the curriculum as well as student and faculty bodies. The role of faculty will change from being an information provider to becoming a mentor, facilitator and co-learner.

There was a time when the world was big and also slow in changing. Today the world is small and quick in wearing a new garb. The boundaries and the barriers among the nations have vanished. The whole world has shrunk into a small village. The process of globalization has brought people to one another and as such, the challenges of life have multiplied. A student is no longer a citizen of his own land. He is a world citizen. So he has to be taught trained and developed from larger perspective of globalization.

Educational system all around the world is under increasing pressure to use the information and communication technologies (ICTs) to teach students the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century. The 1998 UNESCO World Education Report, teachers and teaching in changing world, describes the radical implication information and communication technologies have for conventional teaching and learning. It predicts the transformation of teaching learning process and the way teachers and learners gain access to knowledge and information. It states:

To effectively harness the power of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve learning, the following essential conditions must be met:

Ø Students and teachers must have sufficient access to digital technologies and the Internet in their classrooms, schools and teacher education institutions.
Ø High quality meaningful and culturally responsive digital content must be available for teachers and learners.
Ø Teachers must have the knowledge and skills to use the new digital tools and resources to help all students achieve high academic standards.

Teacher education institutions are faced with the challenge of preparing a new generation of teachers to effectively use the new learning tools in their teaching practices. For many teacher education programmes, this daunting task requires the acquisition of new resources, expertise and careful planning. In approaching this task, it is helpful to understand:

Ø The impact of technology on global society and implications of education.
Ø The extensive knowledge that has been generated about how people learn and what this means for creating more effective and engaging student centered learning environment.
Ø The stages of teacher development and the levels of adoption of ICT by teachers.
Ø The critical importance of context, culture, leadership and vision, lifelong learning and the change process in planning for the integration of technology into teacher education.
Ø The ICT competencies required of teachers related to content, pedagogy, technical issues, social issues, collaboration and networking.
Ø The importance of developing standards to guide implementation of ICT in teacher education.
Ø The essential conditions for successful integration of ICT into teacher education.
Ø Important strategies to consider in planning of infusion of ICT in teacher education and managing the change.

This is only possible if the teachers learn the art of becoming successful teachers from this perspective. The knowledge as well as the tools and methodologies of presenting this knowledge are changing at a fast speed. Information technology is paving its way and the student is constantly demanding innovation in learning techniques.

National Policy on teacher education

Our National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 recommended nothing short of an overhaul of teacher education but unfortunately, it has remained a pious resolution. It will not be out of place therefore to state that our position on certain fundamental issues, which could hope to build a better structure of a teacher-training programme, has remained at a dream stage only. It is the teacher who has to ultimately transmit the policy intentions into actual practice of teacher preparation. The teacher needless to say has to be prepared with reference to a definite social and educational context and the teacher preparation programme has to match the fast changing scenario around the world.
Thrust areas of teacher education

The physical, psychological and sociological capacities and needs of learners at different levels of schooling are obviously different. As such, it is futile to assume that the thrust areas of education and teacher education for all these levels would be identical. Teacher education curricula needs to be inter-linked, inter-woven and integrated so that it matches with the trends and challenges that the teacher education is facing today.

Some of these major thrust areas include empowering teachers to evolve cultural specific pedagogy for the learner, skills of communication and language proficiency, understanding of the impacts of liberalization, privatization, globalization and above all the area of information communication technology.

Inclusion of information communication technology in teacher education

The main professional education curriculum for teachers has to have integration, which obey principles of development and articulation. On examining the B.Ed. curriculum of NCTE and UGC, it is found that both the bodies have recommended removal of deadwood from the curriculum and incorporation of computer education.

There is need for re-examination of the existing curriculum for the purpose of reshaping and making it user friendly. The present B.Ed. curriculum needs surgery. Inclusion of information communication technology in the existing B.Ed. curriculum is very important and its effective integration into the main stream is absolutely essential.

The framework of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teacher education

While planning ICT in teacher preparation programme, a complex set of components need consideration. A vision of ICT in education often precedes the development of standards. The following points in this regard need consideration:

v Skilled educators
The educators who work with teacher candidates must be skilled in the use of technology for learning. They must be able to apply technology in the presentation and administration of their course work and facilitate the appropriate use of technology by their teacher candidate. From the first course taken by a fresh teacher through collaborative work at the school side, pre-service teachers should participate with and observe their mentors using technology effectively. The teacher educator should model and teach techniques for managing technology in the classroom and for communicating outside the classroom through electronic means.

v Professional development
Even in the context in which professional development is extensive, it is important to provide consistence excess to professional development as the technology consistently changes. Ongoing opportunities for professional development should be available and faculty and administrators who participate in the preparation of teachers should be able to use it. The venues and delivery mechanisms should take into consideration issues of time, location, distance, credit options and so on. Professional development is not a one-time event; it should be focussed on the needs of the faculty members and sustained through coaching and periodic updates.
v Technical assistance
Educators need technical assistance to use and maintain technology. The focus of the faculty members and pre-service teachers should be on teaching and learning and not on maintaining and repairing the technology beyond basic trouble shooting procedures.

When the technology does not function well, a learning opportunity is lost and faculty frustration grows. Timely technical assistance is imperative for faculty and teacher trainees to feel confident that they can use technology in their teaching and learning. There are many ways in which technical assistance can be obtained including asking community members or student assistants to maintain a help desk. It is a critical factor for success in implementing ICT.

v Contents standards and curriculum resource
Educators must be knowledgeable in the content, standards and teaching methodologies of their discipline. Teacher candidates must learn to use technology to support ICT in teacher development.

v Bench marks and self-assessment tools
In planning the integration of ICT into teacher education, it is important for teacher education institutions to understand the knowledge and skills necessary for teachers to effectively use ICT in their instructions. They must also understand the institutions level of readiness to integrate technology into teacher education curriculum. To accomplish these goals, teacher education institutions need the benchmarks, standards and guidelines. It is important that they have access tools that help them assess their level of readiness and progress in infusing ICT into teacher education programme.
v Pedagogy
The most important aspect of infusing technology in the curriculum of teacher education is pedagogy. When implementing the pedagogical competencies for infusing technology, the local contexts and the individual approach of the teacher linked with that of their subject discipline must be paramount. Teachers move through stages as they adopt ICT. Initially, the teacher adopting technology applies it simply as a substitute for current teaching practice where technology is not used. For example, teacher lectures become electronic presentation supporting lectures, students writing paper by hand becomes student’s writing papers using a word processor, course syllabus on paper becomes course syllabus on-line etc.

The adaptation of ICT of teacher should challenge and support changes in teaching practice, building upon individual pedagogy expertise. As teachers pedagogical practices with new technologies continue to develop and organizational support and access to ICT grows, it become possible to move beyond the adaptation of ICT applications that fit with existing practice. Transformation of the educational process will start to emerge and move towards more students’ centered learning environment.

As professional teacher educators continually develop their pedagogical use of ICT to support learning, teaching and curriculum development including assessment of learners and the evaluation of teaching, they will:

Ø Demonstrate understanding of opportunities and implications of uses of ICT for learning and teaching in the curriculum context;
Ø Plan, implement and manage learning and teaching in open and flexible learning environment;
Ø Assess and evaluate, learning and teaching in open and flexible learning environment.

ICT in teacher education is essential and it must be met for successful technology integration and provide guidelines for the development of strategic planning process.

Information and communication technology is a major factor in shaping the new global economy and producing rapid changes in society. Within the past decade, the new ICT tools have fundamentally changed the way people communicate and do business. They also have the potential to transform the nature of where and how learning takes plays and the roles of students and teachers in the learning process.

Suggested strategies - ICT in teacher education

Ø Provide a short foundation course that focuses hands on ICT experience as the initial stage of pre-service training.
Ø Provide more advanced ICT courses as elective for students who need or want to develop more advanced ICT based pedagogical skills.
Ø Integrate ICT components into all the subject matters of areas such as Mathematics, Social Studies, and English and so on so that students have a role model for ICT integrated teaching and learning.
Ø Design ICT integrated courses in such a way that student has opportunities to produce ICT based instructional material themselves and share outcomes of the course with others (JUNK 2002).
Ø When planning ICT curriculum, ensure that it is congruent with the educational vision the culture and the context of each region both locally and globally. Develop the vision and standards in stages starting with a core that can be expanded into a set of standards, implemented with ICT for the preparation, continuing professional development of the teachers.
Ø The ICT curriculum should facilitate change towards a more inclusive approach that promotes positive and supporting interdependence between students and teachers while maintaining individual accountability and autonomy.
Ø Plan the curriculum to promote inter culture collaboration and develop a learning community within and between schools and countries using shared and complementary approaches with languages and cultures.
Ø Start telecommunicating activity that is on-line discussion. This remote connection will help in accessing worldwide information and connecting to experts and peers through a variety of formats such as chat rooms, electronic bulletin boards and e-mails.

Teacher education institutions may either assume a leadership role in the transformation of teacher education or be left behind in the whirlpool of rapid technological change. For education to reap the full benefits of ICT in learning, it is essential that pre-service and in-service teachers have basic ICT skills and competencies. Teacher education institutions and programmes must provide the leadership for pre-service and in-service teachers and model the new pedagogies and tools for learning. They must also provide leadership in determining how the new technologies can best be used in the context of culture, needs and economic conditions within our country.

To accomplish these goals, teacher education institutions must work closely and effectively with senior secondary teachers and administrators, national or state educational agencies, business and community organizations and other important stakeholders in the education system. Teacher education institutions also need to develop strategies and plan to enhance the teaching learning process within teacher education programmes and to assure that all future teachers are well prepared to use the new tools for learning.


References:

· Evgueni Khvilon UNESCO - A Planning guide information and communication technologies in teacher education.

· National Council for Teacher Education - Perspective Plan 2003-2007.

· National Council for Teacher Education - Envisioning Teacher Education – In the 10th Plan & Beyond.

· National Council for Teacher Education - Curriculum Framework for Quality Teacher Education.

· Gore, J. Griffiths, T. & Ladwig, J. (2001) - Productive pedagogy as a framework for teacher education: towards better teaching.

· Dr Janice M Hall JP MACE (2004) - Authentic Assessment and Productive Pedagogies in Pre-service Teacher Education


Weblinks:

· http://www.ilfsets.com/main/quarterly/volumeII/aspfiles/qrpage11.asp
· http://www.indianngos.com/issue/education/resources/articles83.htm
· http://www.indianngos.com/issue/education/resources/articles83.htm
· http://www.house.gov/fattah/education/ed_sbruneq.htm
· http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2003/0303pentbudget_body.html
· www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/CERU
· www.icponline.org/feature_articles
· www.corpwatch.org
· www.planningcommission.nic.in/reportsf.htm .¨

Published in the University News, May - June, 2005.

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