Project Title

Enriching Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices in Singapore Schools through a Design-based Approach with Interactive Whiteboards as Catalyst



Overview

A small number of Singapore schools have experimented with interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology but anecdotal evidence suggests their use has not yet been fully exploited. However, there is a growing interest in the potential of IWBs as an IT tool that might support the implementation of IT Masterplan 2 (Tharman, 2002) in Singapore, and it is within this context that this research proposal is located. This research study designs an intervention that is a Community of Practice (CoP) approach with IWB as the catalyst. Using a Design-Based Research perspective, this project seeks to understand how teachers’ use and pedagogical practices might shift as members of a CoP that employs large representation technologies such as IWBs. This research is expected to contribute towards the relatively under-researched area in the learning sciences in exploring ways of using technological tools which have different affordances for supporting learner and teacher-centered activities, and which might be used as part of what might be termed synergistic pedagogical activities. In this research study spanning 2005 – 6, 16 teachers in 8 schools are provided with IWBs and training with the aim of exploring the transformative potential of IWB technology for teachers and for students.  The study examines the impact and influence of CoP and IWBs on teachers’ pedagogy and students’ learning experiences in Singapore classrooms.

Project Reference

LSL 5/05 LCK