Showing papers in "Educational technology research in 2017"

Recent Trends of Research on Classroom Instruction and Teacher Education Based on the Educational Technology Approach

Abstract: As innovation in technology encourages the use of information technology and globalization, the speed of progress and change in society has accelerated. In addition to cultivating various knowledge in children, schools are now expected to develop children’s general capabilities such as their competences to think intelligently and flexibly, to solve problems through collaboration with others, and to use information and communication technology as tools. In order to flexibly respond to such rapid changes in society and to develop knowledge and competence in children, it is essential to improve the qualifications and capacities of teachers who carry out educational activities and, in particular, it is important to enhance their expertise at providing classroom instruction, which lies at the heart of the teaching profession. Diverse academic research into classroom instruction and teacher education has been conducted and one of the approaches is based on educational technology. In Japan, research on classroom instruction and teacher education based on the educational technology approach has been conducted since the 1960s and findings have been accumulated on the following: the development of teaching materials/tools and curricula; the use of information and communication technology (ICT), including audio-visual equipment and computers; modelling of lesson and teacher education programs. According to Yoshizaki (2012), the features of educational technology that form the basis of the educational technology approach can be summarized as follows: (1) Educational technology has a pragmatic value in maximizing educational effect. (2) Educational technology adopts a systems approach, which pursues a better combination of a variety of components that are deemed to comprise a system; in this case, a variety of components related to educational processes including objectives, content, teaching material, teaching media, teachers, and children. (3) Educational technology supports the educator in selecting and deciding on more appropriate educational activities. (4) Educational technology adopts the method of action research, which repeats the processes of theory and practice. Education is provided as a combination of components that are expected to maximize educational effects based on insights from educational science or the experiential knowledge of the educator; the practice is Recent Trends of Research on Classroom Instruction and Teacher Education Based on the Educational Technology Approach