A New Interactive Whiteboard Pedagogy through Transformative Personal Development

A New Interactive Whiteboard Pedagogy through Transformative Personal Development

Maureen Haldane (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
Copyright: © 2010 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-715-2.ch012

Abstract

This chapter examines how teachers acquire proficiency in the use of interactive whiteboards for the enhancement of whole-class teaching. It suggests that teachers are unlikely to make optimal use of the affordances of the technology through preparatory training alone, and that such an expectation could adversely affect the chances of successful implementation. A phased development of teachers’ capability is described during which those with initially limited technical skills can begin to explore the pedagogic potential of the interactive whiteboard and then progressively develop their technical skills in tandem with the evolution of their pedagogy. The author proposes a process of Transformative Personal Development (TPD) within which initial expert interventions demonstrate what is ultimately achievable and set the agenda for a more sustained period of collaborative work-based learning.
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Background

The value of active, experiential learning as a means of helping teachers to develop the capability to grasp opportunities for innovation that impact positively on learning, has been a live issue for some time, with contributions such as Elliot’s (1991) advocacy of action research being particularly influential. However, there is some evidence that, at an operational level, these influences are less embedded in the provision of CPD than might be expected.

For example, in her qualitative study of strategies for teachers’ CPD at the school level Cordingley (2008) observes that:

Although heads and teachers were reported to have rated action research very highly, there is no evidence from this report, or from subsequent whole school evaluations (Ofsted, 2006), studies of teachers perceptions of CPD (Hustler, 2003) or meta-studies such as Bolam and Weindling (2006) that their enthusiasm has influenced CPD policies and practices at the whole school level. (p. 5)

Phillips et al. (2004), in a study undertaken on behalf of nine professional bodies (which included the General Teaching Council for England, the custodian of professional standards for teachers) commented on the frustration of the professional bodies at the preponderance of structured learning inputs as the focus for CPD activity. However, they also noted that the professionals themselves were generally happy with this situation. They valued the opportunity to meet and engage with a variety of other professionals of broadly similar backgrounds but with a different set of experiences. Their objective appeared to be the acquisition of relatively discrete inputs of new information that would broaden and update their professional knowledge.

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