Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Favourable Conditions for Teachers’ Upward Developmental Trajectories

Abstract

In this paper, we study developmental trajectories of three teachers as they integrate GroupScribbles (GS) technology in their classroom lessons over the period of about one academic semester. Coherency diagrams are used to capture the complex interplay of a teacher’s knowledge (K), goals (G) and beliefs (B) in leveraging technology effectively in the classroom. The degree of coherency between the KGB region and the affordances of the technology provides an indication of the teacher’s developmental progression through the initiation, implementation and maturation phases of using technology in the classroom. Our analysis of these three teachers’ trajectories suggests that initial high coherency in a teacher’s KGB region and having students who have already been enculturated with the technology-enabled pedagogies accelerate upward developmental trajectories in integrating technology in the classroom.