Professional development training

Schools send teachers on professional development training in order for them to update their professional knowledge. In this study, exposure to professional development training on the use of technology encouraged teachers to apply it in their teaching. In the online survey, 30 out of the 74 teachers (40%) stated that they were exposed to professional development training in technology. This low figure could be explained by the fact that the majority of teachers were from no-fee-paying schools (Section 5.2.2.1) that had no or limited IT resources or lacked the funding to send teachers for regular professional development training.

During the interviews, three of the ten teachers were dissatisfied that they had had so few workshops regarding the use of technology for teaching and learning. Teacher 3 explained:

We go on professional development training but I cannot remember when last we were sent to workshops on technology, you know. Since I have been in this school, they had organised just one training session because there were no funds ….

Dogan and Akbarov (2016) and Nikolopoulou and Gialamas (2016) report that irregular professional development training can undermine teachers’ commitment to using technology. Without regular training, teachers may not acquire the necessary skills to do so (O’Dwyer et al., 2005; Collins & Bronte-Tinkew, 2010). There is, therefore, a need for continuous professional development in order to skill and update teachers in the use of technology for teaching and learning (Al-Zahrani, 2015).

Consistent with the findings of several previous studies (Francom, 2016; Khodabandelou et al., 2016; Hsu, 2016; Elemam, 2016), three of the ten teachers interviewed acknowledged that they had not been sent on professional development training because their schools lacked the necessary funds and/or resources. Teacher 6 explained:

… staff members in my school were encouraged to go on professional development courses. In fact, we had professional development every term but the challenge was that there was nothing on technology. We don’t have resources.

From the researcher’s classroom observations, it can be confirmed that Teachers 6, 7 (he was interviewed at his school), 8 and 9 were not sent on professional development training because their schools lacked the necessary resources. This was logical because there was no infrastructure or equipment for them to practise with after training.

Contrary to these findings, four out of the ten teachers interviewed (those appointed to fee- paying schools) had regular professional development training on technology. Teacher 4 commented:

We most often had training in technology during the weekends outside the school; we had been on smart board and many software trainings [sessions]. These exposures built my confidence and intensified the drive to integrate technology in my teaching.

According to Teacher 4:

The school always sent us on professional development training … they [the school] always arranged things like that. Sometimes it would be school exchange programmes where we went to other schools and learned how they taught with technology, or experts were invited in the school.

From these findings, it is evident that teachers learned how to use technology through three means: workshops which were organised during weekends outside the school premises, school exchange programmes where they learned from how other schools used technology, or from experts invited to the school to train them. Teacher 5 commented:

... the school paid for technology trainings. Some of our technological trainings have been at B... High school. The principal at B... High School is smart board trained. He knows a lot and he do the Maths courses and English. We went there on smart board courses for that … activities and things one could do in a classroom, ideas on how to use the smart board … integrate it into Maths and English lessons. Teacher 5 indicated that her principal made arrangements for teachers in her school to attend training sessions or workshops which were paid for with school funds. She expressed her gratitude for this opportunity to receive training, which encouraged her to use technology in her teaching.

These findings correlate with the results of international studies conducted by Walker and Shepard (2011), Al-Zahrani (2015) and Vrasidas (2015). They reported that professional development training encourages teachers to use technology in their classrooms. According to Baylor and Ritchie (2002), technology may be available, but teachers use it only if they have been trained to do so. In expressing their gratitude for professional development training that furnished them with the necessary skills to be able to teach with technology, teachers in Kaleli- Yilmaz’s (2015) study stated that before they received this training in the use of technology, they could not use it adequately in their courses. Professional development appears to be a significant factor in encouraging and training teachers to teach effectively with technology.

Though teachers in this study were not asked what kind of technology training was most effective for them, it became evident in one teacher’s interview (Teacher 5) that she preferred hands-on training because it was flexible – she could play with technology and learn in the process. Teacher 5 reported:

We did short courses on how to use a smart board ... we had two or three sessions this year. It was practical stuff … we developed a lesson and taught colleagues, that was practical stuff.

From this excerpt, it can be deduced that professional development training in Teacher 5’s school was designed in such a way that they were given activities that required them to interact with each other. In a study conducted by Walker and Shepard (2011), teachers indicated that hands-on experience with activities for them to practise was better than listening to a facilitator who explained how a form of technology could be used for teaching and learning. Studies such as that of Nyambane and Nzuki (2014) support this finding, insisting that teachers be given opportunities to practise with technology during professional development training.

Two teachers interviewed, who happened to be highly skilled in the use of technology, complained that sometimes their professional development training was not challenging enough as it focused on the basic use of computers. They felt that they sometimes did not benefit from the training as they already knew how to use a computer. Teacher 1 stated:

… the last one [professional development training session] that I went to, was really good … some of the others, I kind of knew the stuff already from my childhood days as I was doing some of the basic computer stuff. I’ve been using it [technology] since my first year, during Teaching Practice, because during my Teaching Practice most of the time I was always at schools with smart boards. So, I’m quite clued up with technology … I found some of the training not very helpful because they taught basic computer stuff.

It appears that basic training in technology is important as a starting point, but it needs to progress from simple to more complex activities in order to challenge teachers’ existing technology knowledge. Teachers would then be encouraged to attend professional development training and integrate technology into their teaching. Some teachers lack basic technology skills, so find introductory lessons beneficial, while others who have already mastered some skills should be able to join the training at a later stage where more difficult skills and concepts are being introduced.

In Schrum et al.’s (2008) study, schools lacked the funds to provide training beyond the basic use of the computer. Similarly, Sulungai et al. (2012), Ndibalema (2014) and Al-Awidi and Aldhafeeri (2017) found that professional development training remained focused on basic ICT skills rather than on pedagogy. This meant that teachers felt they still lacked the necessary confidence and knowledge to teach effectively with technology. Cubukcuoglu (2013) caution that training should not focus only on basic technology skills but should also develop teachers’ pedagogical skills in order to be effectual.

All the teachers suggested that they should be supervised after training, to monitor problems that might arise in their classrooms and also to encourage them continuously to use technology in their teaching. This supervision could address certain challenges that discourage them from using technology. Teacher 1 explained:

The WCED cannot continue buying computers and opening computer labs without properly training teachers. After training, school inspectors should be sent to schools to see if teachers are actually using the technology … challenges they have encountered and how they [subject advisors] could help teachers address these challenges … if this does not happen, teachers would be reluctant or stop using a technology when faced with challenges.

This recommendation is significant: some teachers reported that they had colleagues who attended professional development training sessions, but used technology only for administrative purposes or stopped using it after a while. Cubukcuoglu (2013) suggests that teachers should be monitored by education authorities to see if they are effectively integrating technology in their teaching, and be guided by them on best practice. Similarly, Khodabandelou et al. (2016) recommend that government should develop sustained programmes for the monitoring of teachers’ use of technology in their teaching, lest they simply revert to more conventional instructional strategies when they encounter difficulties.