Preparing future teachers for the strategic use of ICT: A project-based approach

In response to the need for teachers capable of integrating ICT effectively into teaching, and the limited strategic use of technology in Luxembourg schools (Reuter, Busana & Linckels, 2016), we developed a project-based course to enhance educational technology integration competencies among future primary school teachers.

In the course “Educational Technology”, students of the BSCE collaboratively engage in a multi-step process: (1) actively explore a different real pedagogical challenge, (2) review existing educational solutions and relevant pedagogical technologies (analog and digital), (3) design an original educational technology integration scenario that is grounded in state of the art socio-constructivist learning theories and guided by the Triple E Framework (Kolb, 2017). They do this process for 3 different issues and for each one they produce a teacher hand-out and a teaser video. For one of the 3 scenarios they do a test-run in an educational setting, where they document, analyze, and evaluate the teaching and learning activities. At the end of the semester, they present their products to an audience of peers and school community members. Selected projects are published on a website for teachers to find inspiration.

Our teaching approach aims to immerse students in authentic, practice-oriented learning while promoting collaboration, self-directed project work, and practical application of theoretical frameworks and models, such as Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001), technology integration strategies (Roblyer & Doering, 2012), learning & teaching events (Leclercq & Poumay, 2005). As students design and implement their own solutions, they are encouraged to think critically about the added value that ICT can bring to education, fostering a deeper understanding of how to use digital tools in effective, context-driven ways. Moreover, they learn how to produce videos to convey a strategic message and to think about how to convincingly “sell” an educational practice to others.