Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Identify Issues and Develop Pedagogical Awareness of Teaching with Technology: A Self-Study from a Pre-Service Teacher Education Class

Abstract

Abstract In this self-study, a pre-service teacher educator and her students in a pre-service teacher education program course elective – “21st Century Teaching and Learning with Technology” – explored and reflected upon the complexities of imbedding inquiry-based learning as both a method of teaching and for learning about integrating technology into teaching practice. They discovered that inquiry activities incorporating application, synthesis, and critical analysis functioned as effective learning vehicles through which individuals can explore their own orientations and understandings. An authentic task for learning in which students were tasked with taking on responsibility for a cross-disciplinary, multi-grade professional development workshop for classmates proved to be the cornerstone upon which students gained self-efficacy in terms of beliefs in personal abilities to integrate technology, refined pedagogical perspectives, and theorized ways to enhance and nurture inquiry-based teaching and learning environments in 21st century classrooms that infuse technology. Their development was due, in part, to how their instructor presented learning content and modeled practice that was shaped by philosophies of teaching and learning.