Benchmarks for Teacher Education Programs in the Pedagogical Use of ICT

Abstract

This chapter presents nine benchmarks for teacher education programs on the pedagogical use of information and communication technology for both pre-service and in-service teacher education and training based upon a review of the literature on effective teacher education and an analysis of international exemplary teacher education programs. Four benchmarks relate to the competence of the teacher at the individual level and include personal ICT competencies, the use of ICT as mind tools in professional practice, knowledge of and experience with social aspects of ICT use in education and the use of ICT in teaching. The other relate to program design and teacher-education pedagogy. Effective programs should involve institutional and workplace learning, foster development of communities of practice, and use learning environments that are rich in ICT, open and flexible. Effective teacher-education pedagogy integrates ICT in structured, experiential learning, embedded in different content domains in the teacher education program rather than as a separate component.