Factors Shaping the Uptake of ICT in Science Classrooms. A Study of a Large-Scale Introduction of Interactive Whiteboards and Computers

Abstract

This paper characterizes how science teachers use technology in secondary school lessons, with a special focus on Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs), laptops and Digital Textbooks (DTs). This study also analyses how previous professional development or training may influence the way in which teachers use technology in their subsequent practice, as well as some possible relations with their perceptions. A total of 94 teachers from 69 secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain) were surveyed. Responses were collected and analysed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants’ answers reveal the predominance of the use of IWBs and teachers’ computers, with scarce variety of uses, mostly aimed at supporting teacher-centred practices. Students’ participation in the use of these devices was low, calling into question the possible educational changes in science education. Although most teachers’ training in the use of technology seems to have caused little impact on their subsequent practices, some less frequent training approaches, such as training based on real examples, seems more effective in terms of changing teachers’ utilization of technology.