This document discusses teacher learning and collaboration. It covers several key topics: - Teacher knowledge is developed through theoretical, practical, self-regulatory, collaborative, and technological knowledge. - Teachers must continuously learn and adapt their practices due to changing educational needs and innovations. Collaboration is important for teacher learning and developing expertise. - Teacher beliefs strongly influence their practices, and these beliefs can change through reflection and collaboration with other teachers. - Technologies also impact teacher learning, and teachers need technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge to effectively integrate technologies. Collaboration provides opportunities for teachers to learn from each other.

1. Teacher learning and
collaboration
18.11.2013
Niina Impiö
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit

2. Teacher learning
• Teacher knowledge
• Teacher beliefs
• Teacher collaboration
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

3. The challenge of 21st century
”Teaching for the knowledge
society requires developing
broad cognitive learning,
collaborative processes,
risk-taking, creativity, and
innovation in schools and
classroom.”
(Sahlberg, 2006)
Photo: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=401503909941531&set=a.340040226087900.80614.339992636092659&type=1&theater
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

4. Changes in teachers’ work
• There is ongoing pressure for developmental changes in education
(e.g. educational innovations, technology-enhanced learning).
• There is a need for changes in knowledge, beliefs, emotions and
teaching practices (Bakkenes,Vermunt & Wubbels, 2010).
• Educational innovations have failed too often because they did not
recognize the need for teacher learning (c.f Fullan, 1982; Lieberman
& Pointer Mace, 2008)
• These changes require continuous teacher professional
development (e.g. Sahlberg & Boce, 2010).
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

5. Challenge for teachers
• When there is need to change the pedagogy of the school, teachers
are expected to adapt their way of teaching accordingly.
Teachers have to
–
–
–
–
–
Develop novel visions on learning and teaching
be motivated to learn about the new pedagogy
understand what the innovation is useful for
develop skills to bring the innovation into practice
Form a community of teachers who all will learn new things
 Teaching is very demanding, high-performance profession in which
teachers must rapidly make many decisions in a highly complex and
time-pressured conditions
 Running 21st teaching teachers should learn to be adaptive experts (e.g.
Crawford, Schlager, Toyama, Riel & Vahey, 2005)
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

6. • In recent years, teacher learning has
become an important topic in
educational research.
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

7. WRITE DOWN YOUR OWN
THOUGHTS
© N. Impiö
• What is teacher
learning?
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

8. Teachers’ expertise is based on
(e.g Barab, Kling & Gray 2003; Tynjälä, 2004)
1) Theoretical knowledge
• knowledge of one’s own teaching subject and pedagogical knowledge
 research-based teaching
2) Practical and empirical knowledge
• teaching knowledge, target group evaluation, tacit knowledge
3) Self-regulative knowledge (Pintrich, 2004)
• regulating one’s own learning process: planning and activating, monitoring, control,
and reflection
4) Knowledge of collaborative working practices
• networking, collaborative learning, collaborative knowledge building
5) Knowledge of technology
(Koehler, M.L. & Mishra 2006; 2009)
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

9. TPACK Framework (Koehler & Mishra 2009)
•
This model
describes how
teachers’
understanding of
educational
technologies and
PCK interact
with one
another to
produce effective
teaching with
technology
http://tpack.org/
LET.OULU.FI
niina.impio@oulu.fi
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit

10. Technological pedagogical content knowledge
(TPACK)
1.
Technology knowledge (TK)
– indicates teachers’ skills to use different technologies
– awareness of the different possibilities and constraints that technologies have
 knowing what kind of software there are, and for what purposes and
how to use them in the context of learning
2. Technological content knowledge (TCK)
– The knowledge about the manner in which technology knowledge (TK) and
content knowledge (CK) are reciprocally related to each other
 understanding which technologies and software work with certain
content
3. Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK)
 understanding how teaching and learning changes when introducing and
using different technologies
 understanding the benefits and constrains of different technologies when
using them in teaching
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

11. TPACK is important when we consider software used in teaching.
Software such as social software or office tools is rarely designed
specifically for teaching. This leaves the teacher to decide and
apply them in teaching based on his or her judgment on the
benefits of different tools for learning. (Valtonen, 2011).

12. Teacher beliefs
•
Teachers’ beliefs determine their teaching practices (Kagan, 1992; Pajares, 1992; Wilkins,
2008)
•
Teachers’ behaviours do not change without changes in beliefs (Kagan, 1992; Kane et al.,
2002; Pajares, 1992)
•
Variety of teacher beliefs (Kim et al., 2013)
– Teacher expectation of learner success
– Self-efficacy in their own ability to teach
– Beliefs about the value of specific teaching strategies or materials
– Content specific beliefs
•
Teacher beliefs change through conceptual change that requires them to critically
recognize their own beliefs as well as to observe, evaluate, and alternative beliefs. (Kagan,
1992)
•
These strategies can be done through collaboration among teachers (Chen, 2008).
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

13. Teacher beliefs and technology integration
(Kim et al., 2013)
• Technology challenge teachers’ beliefs in new ways of both seeing and
doing things (Ertmer, 2005)
• Teachers’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning and beliefs
about effective ways of teaching were related to their technology
integration practices. (Kim et al., 2013)
 teacher beliefs should be considered in order to facilitate
technology integration
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

14. Effectiviness of teacher beliefs
(Kim et al., 2013)
•
If teacher believes that the source of knowledge is authority, that teacher may not use a
relatively open-ended approach that encourages students to explore a variety of sources
and construct answers to a given problem or complete certain task.
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING, STUDENT
-CENTERED LEARNING
•
If teacher believes that working in collaboration brings about greater benefits than
learning alone, that teacher would tend to include more group work than teachers who
see little or no learning value in collaboration.
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING, KNOWLEDGE BUILDING
•
If teacher believes that the value of technology for student learning is high because an
interactive whiteboard that allows her to promote active partIcipation of students. In
contrast another teacher believes that the value of technology for student learning is high
because an interactive whiteboard allows him to deliver content more efficiently by
projecting online resources on the board.
EDUCATIONAL USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

15. The interconnected model of teacher professional growth
External domain
The change
environment
Personal domain
External source
of
information or
stimulus
Domain of practice
Knowledge
Beliefs
Attitudes
Professional
experimentation
Salient
outcomes
Enactment (implement)
Domain of consequence
Reflection
(Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002)

16. DISCUSS WITH YOUR PEER
© N. Impiö
1) First, share your memos about
teacher learning with your
peer.
LET.OULU.FI
2) Then, discuss how teachers
learn.
niina.impio@oulu.fi
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit

17. Teacher Learning
•How teachers learn at work?
–
–
–
–
learning by experimenting
learning in interaction
using external sources
consciously thinking about one’s own teaching practices
(Kwakman 2003, Lohma & Woolf 2001, Van Eekelen et al. 2005)
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

18. Towards teachers’ collaborative
working practices
• Collaboration and it’s impact on pedagogical practices is important for
teachers’ professional development.
(Barab & Squire, 2002; Barab, Makinster & Scheckler, 2003; Meirink, Meijer & Verloop 2007; Goddard, Hoy
& Woolfolk Hoy, 2004 Yuen, Law & Wong, 2003).
• It is even more important in various complex and daily situations
”We were lucky to experience possibilities of creative collaboration.
Then, problems did not anymore feel like problems; rather they were
possibilities. We we allowed to move on towards them, game-based
manners, using tools and time as we chose were the best.” (Edutool
student)
LET.OULU.FI
21.11.13
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit

19. Towards teachers’ collaborative
working practices
•
“a coordinated synchronous activity that is the result of continued attempt to
construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem” (Roschelle & Teasley,
1995)
•
“is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something
together” (Dillenbourg, 1999)
•
”Unlike some my colleagues I posses understanding that collaboration does not
happen just bringing people together. Succesfull collaboration requires hard work
and commitment to joint aims. It requires --- free athmosphere and awareness of
each member’s expertise and previous experiences. Collaboration requires
flexibility: you need to be ready to change your perspective and construct new
knowledge together.”
(Edutool student)
LET.OULU.FI
21.11.13
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit

20. Collaboration levels among teachers
(Little, 1990; Rosenholtz, 1989)
• FIRST ”storytelling and scanning”
 occurs in staff rooms or in hallways
 moment-by-moment exchanges
• SECOND ”aid and assistance”

critically look one’s teaching practice
• THIRD ”sharing” or ”exchaning instructional materials and ideas”
 regularly sharing materials, methods an opinions
 allow teachers to make their daily teaching routines accessible to other
teachers which promotes productive discussions of the curriculum
• FOURTH ”joint work” or ”instructional problem-solving and planning”

teachers feel a collective responsibility for the work of teaching
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

21. Teachers’ learning experiences in collaborative settings
(Meirink, Meijer & Verloop 2007)
• Experimenting with
– an adjusted teaching method of a colleague
– a copied teaching method of a colleague
– self-invented teaching method developed in a group meeting
• Reflecting
– comparing teaching methods or theories to own teaching methods
– valuing elements in colleagues’ teaching methods
– becoming aware of own conceptions or good practices in own
teaching methods
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

22. Teachers’ learning experiences in collaborative settings
(Meirink, Meijer & Verloop 2007)
• Learning from others without interaction
– observing colleagues’ teaching methods
– listening to presentation of experts
– reading articles and collegues’ written reports
• Learning from others in interaction
– brainstorming and discussing
– exchanging teaching methods
– asking questions about collegues’ experiences or experiments
– receiving feedback from collegues on own experiences or
experiments
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

23. E6
Asking and explaining
Knowledge sharing
Collaborative working
Collaborative working
starts effective
starts effective
learning mechanism.
learning mechanism.
Learn from others
learning and teaching
strategies
Argumentation and
giving feedback
(esim. Dillenbourg, 1999; Roschelle & Teasley, 1995)
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

24. DISCUSS WITH YOUR PEER
© N. Impiö
• How do you see
collaboration as a tool for
teacher learning/ professional
development?
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
• How do you see technology
as a tool for teacher learning/
professional development?
niina.impio@oulu.fi

25. Multilevel model of
an innovative,
knowledge-creating
school
Expert-like working culture in
the school
Practices for sharing knowledge
and distributing expertise,
Networking: principal, teachers
and students; both internal and
external,
Commonly agreed and
appropriate ways of working,
Community's collective
memory,
The goals of the school
The content of the vision,
The vision of using ICT,
The content of school's strategy for using
ICT,
The importance and centrality of the visions
and strategies.
Pedagogical practices
Pedagogical conceptions in
general,
Conceptions of the pedagogical
use of ICT,
Learning tasks that exploit ICT,
Support for knowledge
management skills,
ICT as school's common
pedagogical tool
common development projects.
Teacher community's working culture
Uniformity of the visions,
Pedagogical collaboration and its density,
Sharing of expertise,
Community’s internal networking,
Discussion culture,
Development culture.
The ICT resources
Adequateness of the ICTresources,
Technical equipment,
The level of students’ and
teachers’ skills and use of
ICT,
Technical and pedagogical
support available
Leadership
The role of the principal,
Shared leadership and
responsible teams,
Principal's networking.
(Ilomäki & Lakkala, 2005)
5

26. THANK YOU!
Niina Impiö
(niina.impio@oulu.fi)
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

27. References
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bakkenes, I., Vermunt, J. D. & Wubbels, T. (2010). Teacher learning in the context of educational
innovation: Learning activities and learning outcomes of experienced teachers. Learning and Instruction,
20(6), 533-548.
Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. (1993). Surpassing ourselves: An inquiry into the nature of expertise.
Chicago: Open Court.
Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002). Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth. Teaching
and Teacher Education, 18, 947–967.
Chen, C. (2008). Why do teachers not practice what they believe regarding technology integration?
Journal of Educational Research, 102(1), 65-75.
Dillenbourg P. (1999). What do you mean by collaborative learning? In P. Dillenbourg (Ed.),
Collaborative learning: Cognitive and computational approaches (s.1-19). Amsterdam: Pergamon.
Fullan, M. (2002). The Role of Leadership in the Promotion of Knowledge Management in Schools.
Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 8(3/4), 411-419.
Ilomäki, L., & Lakkala, M. (2005, August). A framework for investigating school development through
ICT. A paper presented at the 11th Biennial Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction
(EARLI), Nicosia, Cyprus.
Kagan, D. M. (1992). Implications of research on teacher belief. Educational Psychologist, 27(1), 65-90.
Kim, C., Kim, M.K., Lee, C., Spector, J.M., & DeMeester, K. (2013). Teacher beliefs and technology
integration. Teaching and teacher education, 29 (1), 76-85.
Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary
Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved from:
http://www.citejournal.org/vol9/iss1/general/article1.cfm
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi

28. References
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Meirink, J.A., Meijer, P.C., & Verloop, N. (2007). A closer look at teachers’ individual learning in
collaborative settings. Teacher and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 13(2), 145–164.
Meirink, J. A., Imants, J., Meijer, P. & Verloop, N. (2010). Teacher learning and collaboration in innovative
teams. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40 (2), 161–181.
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for
integrating technology in teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054.
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: cleaning up a messy construct. Review of
Educational Research, 62(3), 307-332.
Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher,
15(2), 4-14.
Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harward Educational
Review, 57(1), 1-21.
Tynjälä, P. (2008). Perspectives into learning at the workplace. Educational Research Review, 3, 130–
154.
Van Eekelen, I.M., Boshuizen, H.P.A., & Vermunt, J.D. (2005). Self-regulation in higher education teacher
learning. Higher Education, 50, 447-471.
Wilkins, J. K. M. (2008) The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attutudes,
beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(2), 139-164.
Learning and Educational Technology Research
Unit
niina.impio@oulu.fi