Presentation in the ISATT conference in Tartu, Estonia, 2014 Teachers and the use of digital technologies: from technological deficit to methodological deficit. Fernando Albuquerque Costa, Institute of Education, University of Lisbon, Portugal The work presented herein is the result of a reflection over recent years on how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used in curricular practices by teachers and educators at different educational levels, and the most appropriate strategies for their professional development in this field in particular. Given the diversity of the curricular areas in which the technologies may be used, the different phases and stages of teachers’ careers, and the wide range of perspectives they have about what teaching and learning comprises, and how to incorporate ICT into this process, we always considered it strange that these multiple factors were not specifically incorporated into teacher training. This training on offer is usually non-systematised and does not take into account the teachers’ different characteristics and patterns of working with ICT. In the belief that these differences may be of capital importance for the impact on each teacher’s classroom practices, we propose a framework of thinking that allows us to identify and categorise four different patterns of working with ICT towards goals of a curricular nature. Each pattern found matches each of the four quadrants defined by cross-referencing two orthogonal axes, one represented by the continuum referring to the “teacher’s teaching model” (constructivist to traditional), and another represented by the continuum referring to the “type of technology use” (teacher’s technology to pupil’s technology). This approach leads to the conclusion that not only do clear differences exist among the four patterns of working with the technologies, but also the two types of deficit found are of a differing nature: one which is usually described as technological deficit and another that we call methodological deficit. The latter has more important implications from the curricular point of view, as it leads us to a more demanding intervention in terms of professional development, both for teachers and for those responsible for teacher training.

1. Teachers and the
use of digital
technologies:
from the
technological
deficit to the
methodological
deficit
FERNANDO ALBUQUERQUE COSTA
Institute of Education
UNIVERSITY OF LISBON
TARTU | 2014
Conference «Theory meets practice: important issues in teaching practice»

2. OUTLINE
1. introduction
2. the Portuguese context
3. main issues and some assumptions
4. which new teacher?
5. an orthogonal analysis
6. conclusion

3. INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING COMPUTER ACCESS DIGITAL RESSOURCES
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM I&D
… SCHOOL MANAGEMENT INCENTIVES
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação

4. THE PORTUGUESE CONTEXT
MINERVA PROJECT
ICT LEARNING
OUTCOMES PROJECT
2008
1985 2010
From an exploratory work to a...
National Educational
Technology Plan

5. THE PORTUGUESE CONTEXT
National Educational Technology
Plan (2008)
 Almost all classrooms with at
least one computer with Internet
connection and video projector
 An half with interactive boards…

6. THE PORTUGUESE CONTEXT
 Around 500.000 Magalhães where
distributed for free* to all primary
students…

7. THE PORTUGUESE CONTEXT
In Portugal, teacher-training practices for the
use of ICT have relied, almost exclusively, on
the traditional models and practices of
teacher preparation in general (Barroso &
Canário, 1999)…
… leading mainly to a type of training that
focuses on technology and the learning of
tools, while forgetting or giving less priority to its
effective integration in the curricular activity.

8. THE MAIN ISSUES
 Which digital competences of students?
 Which implications for the curriculum?
Which implications for teachers?
 Which teacher training model?

9. SOME CRUCIAL ASSUMPTIONS
ICT as teacher tool >> ICT as student tool
ICT to do the same >> ICT to do differently
ICT as reproduction >> ICT as production
ICT as a learning subject >> ICT as a mindtool
Superficial learning >> Deep learning
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação

10. ICT POTENTIAL
FROM THE CURRICULUM POINT OF VIEW
Very poor, superficial
and unclear role of
ICT in the national
curriculum,
independently of the
subject areas.
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação
 ICT could add value…
 ICT meaning innovation of
learning processes
 ICT much more than an
instrumental support of
learning subjects
 ICT as a set of transversal
competencies
 ICT as a tool for both
individual and social
development of students
(citizens)…
EVIDENCES
(CRUZ, 2010)
(COSTA, 2010)

11. THE PROBLEM
 “lack of confidence…”,
 “negative emotional connotation on the
relation to technology”…,
 “not feeling competent enough to cope
with the changes ICT compels them to…
 “the inappropriate or insufficient training”
 “lack of support…”
 “organisational constraints at school”,
 “too little time and too much to do…
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação
(COSTA & PERALTA, 2006)
EVIDENCES I

12. THE PROBLEM
EVIDENCES II
 Technology is not an integrated resource
within teaching activities;
 Teachers use ICT without a full
understanding of learning principles;
 They know how to use computers but not in
the classroom with their pupils;
 ICT did not significantly change attitudes,
roles and ways of teaching and learning.
(PERALTA & COSTA, 2007)
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação

13. THE PROBLEM
SYNTHESIS
Teachers are not conveniently prepared to
realize and use the innovative potential of
ICT in the curriculum.
Traditional teacher’s training models aren’t
adequate…
(PERALTA, 2002; COSTA, 2005, 2008)
fernando albuquerque costa | universidade de lisboa | instituto de educação

14. WHICH NEW TEACHER?

15. WHICH NEW TEACHER?
From this analysis it is possible to infer that the work with ICT for
pedagogical aims needs to address issues within three main
dimensions:
 the first one has to do with teachers’ background
knowledge and skills, that is, with what they have
previously learned and how;
 the second and crucial one refers to individual
characteristics, both of an affective and cognitive
nature;
 the third one has to do with contextual factors, both an
organisational and even of a macro structural order.

16. AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
ICT function
Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
(Costa, 2012)
CAPTION

17. AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
ICT function
Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
(Costa, 2012)
CAPTION

18. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CAPTION

19. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
A teacher who also centres the
activity on the pupils and
reflects on what he does on a
regular basis, although he does
not yet have knowledge about
the specific tools, or how to use
them appropriately to
encourage, develop and
enhance the pupils’ ability to
think, create, solve problems,
express themselves,
communicate, interact and
collaborate with others.
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
CAPTION

20. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
A teacher who also centres the
activity on the pupils and
reflects on what he does on a
regular basis, although he does
not yet have knowledge about
the specific tools, or how to use
them appropriately to
encourage, develop and
enhance the pupils’ ability to
think, create, solve problems,
express themselves,
communicate, interact and
collaborate with others.
The teacher understands and
uses the technology essentially
to support the process of
transmitting knowledge to the
pupils, whereby the computer is
largely used as a substitute and
mediator, be it in the
transmission of knowledge or in
the way the learning is
consolidated, through
exercises, educational games
or other kinds of strategies,
essentially reactively
responding to the stimuli
presented.
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CAPTION

21. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
A teacher who also centres the
activity on the pupils and
reflects on what he does on a
regular basis, although he does
not yet have knowledge about
the specific tools, or how to use
them appropriately to
encourage, develop and
enhance the pupils’ ability to
think, create, solve problems,
express themselves,
communicate, interact and
collaborate with others.
The teacher understands and
uses the technology essentially
to support the process of
transmitting knowledge to the
pupils, whereby the computer is
largely used as a substitute and
mediator, be it in the
transmission of knowledge or in
the way the learning is
consolidated, through
exercises, educational games
or other kinds of strategies,
essentially reactively
responding to the stimuli
presented.
A teacher who knows that tools
are available, that may be used
to support and expand the
thinking process, but who ends up
using them inappropriately, with
no consistent theoretical basis
underpinning this goal, as well as
not doing so in accordance with
his own traditional method of
teaching.
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CAPTION

22. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
Technological
& metodological
deficit
Metodological
deficit
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
A teacher who also centres the
activity on the pupils and
reflects on what he does on a
regular basis, although he does
not yet have knowledge about
the specific tools, or how to use
them appropriately to
encourage, develop and
enhance the pupils’ ability to
think, create, solve problems,
express themselves,
communicate, interact and
collaborate with others.
The teacher understands and
uses the technology essentially
to support the process of
transmitting knowledge to the
pupils, whereby the computer is
largely used as a substitute and
mediator, be it in the
transmission of knowledge or in
the way the learning is
consolidated, through
exercises, educational games
or other kinds of strategies,
essentially reactively
responding to the stimuli
presented.
A teacher who knows that tools
are available, that may be used
to support and expand the
thinking process, but who ends up
using them inappropriately, with
no consistent theoretical basis
underpinning this goal, as well as
not doing so in accordance with
his own traditional method of
teaching.
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CAPTION

23. ICT function
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
Technological
& metodological
deficit
Metodological
deficit
(Costa, 2012) Teachers beliefs
II
III
I
IV
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
A teacher who also centres the
activity on the pupils and
reflects on what he does on a
regular basis, although he does
not yet have knowledge about
the specific tools, or how to use
them appropriately to
encourage, develop and
enhance the pupils’ ability to
think, create, solve problems,
express themselves,
communicate, interact and
collaborate with others.
The teacher understands and
uses the technology essentially
to support the process of
transmitting knowledge to the
pupils, whereby the computer is
largely used as a substitute and
mediator, be it in the
transmission of knowledge or in
the way the learning is
consolidated, through
exercises, educational games
or other kinds of strategies,
essentially reactively
responding to the stimuli
presented.
A teacher who knows that tools
are available, that may be used
to support and expand the
thinking process, but who ends up
using them inappropriately, with
no consistent theoretical basis
underpinning this goal, as well as
not doing so in accordance with
his own traditional method of
teaching.
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
A teacher who centres his activity
on the pupils, granting them a
leading role in their learning.
The teacher as someone who
knows and uses tools that help
him to think, along the lines of
what Jonassen labelled
“cognitive tools” (2007), but also
a teacher who systematically
reflects on what he does and
how he does it, and based on this
reflection introduces changes
whenever necessary, thus
improving his practice.
CAPTION

24. CAPTION
ICT function
Teachers beliefs
AN ORTHOGONAL ANALYSIS TOOL
II
III
I
IV
Potencial of
transformation
LEARNING
FROM
TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING
WITH
TECHNOLOGY
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
(Costa, 2012)

25. CONCLUSION
IT is truly a revolutionary technology that,
if properly used,
could change education significantly
it is the pedagogical way in which it is
used that makes the difference
(Salomon, 2002)

26. “it is about to get it [the dream]
more possible!”
Seymour Papert

27. THANK YOU!
fernando albuquerque costa | fc@ie.ulisboa.pt
UNIVERSITY OF LISBON | INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

28. REFERENCES
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Meta-analysis of instructional interventions affecting critical thinking skills and dispositions:
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Research Association, San Francisco.
Almeida, M. & Valente, J. (2011). Tecnologias e currículo: trajectórias convergentes ou
divergentes? São Paulo: Paulus.
Costa, F. & Peralta, H. (2006). Primary teachers' competence and confidence. Level
regarding the use of ICT. In ED-MEDIA - World Conference on Educational Multimedia,
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Costa, F., Fellner, R., Kruif, G., Kuittinen, E. & Tuulianen, M. (2006). Teacher professional
development and digital portfolios. In APS (Ed.), Digital Portfolio as a strategy for teachers'
professional development. Lisboa: Associação de Professores de Sintra. 69-90.
Franssila, H. & Pehkonen, M. (2005). Why do ICT-strategy implementation in schools fail and
ICT-ractices do not develop? In Media Skills and Competence Conference Proceedings.
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Wallin, E. (2005). The Rise and Fall of Swedish Educational Technology 1960–1980.
Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research (5). 437–460.
Weston, M. & Bain, A. (2010). The end of techno-critique: The naked truth about 1:1 laptop
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