Multimodality in the Preparation of Teachers of the Social Studies

Theoretical and Knowledge Frameworks

Because this chapter reports on the digital technology component of this specific project, a brief recognition of the theories driving the whole study may be helpful to set the context for the discussion. The study’s framework integrated aspects of five bodies of knowledge that would inform inquiry and provided the foundations on which to set method and interpretations of result. These bodies are (1) various conceptions on the nature of knowledge; (2) contemporary research in qualitative theory and methodology; (3) a practical framework for problem solving analysis; (4) the use of Case Study in teacher education; and (5) studies in applied educational technology. The present chapter’s main focus is on the third, fourth, and fifth of these bodies of knowledge. A strong intent was to review the earlier literature in these areas in order to locate the research and claims within these areas, on which rests most of the latest work.