Teacher professional development in integrating digital fabrication technologies into teaching and learning

Abstract

ABSTRACT The potential of digital fabrication technology (DFT) in education has attracted the attention of many educational stakeholders over the last decade. However, there is scant literature on how in-service teachers take part in teacher professional development (TPD) to equip themselves with necessary DFT skills and knowledge. In response, this qualitative exploratory study aimed to identify characteristics of effective DFT-related TPD and the current status of the implementation of DFT in K–12 education in Hong Kong through interviews with local teachers and stakeholders. The findings reveal that DFT-related TPDs have had positive effects on teachers’ skills and knowledge overall, but they were found to lack in-depth hands-on training and guidance on pedagogical aspects with practical class models. Teachers flexibly adopted formal and informal TPD depending on their own backgrounds, competencies, and needs. In addition, the following barriers to applying TPD learning outcomes to classroom practices were identified: limited hardware availability and access as well as a lack of open-learning classrooms, technical support and sustained professional development for teachers, technology integration into different subjects, and government-provided guidelines and frameworks. However, these limitations were found to afford new opportunities with respect to student-centered and collaborative teaching and learning environments.