Learning in DEPTH: developing a graphical tool for professional thinking for technology teachers

• Published in: International journal of technology and design education Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 221 - 229
• Main Author: Banks, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.07.2008; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult Basic Education; Adult Students; Case Studies; Curriculum Development; Education; Educational Technology; Elementary Secondary Education; Learning and Instruction; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; Preservice Teacher Education; Professional Development; Science Education; Student Teachers; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Educators; Technology Education; Pedagogical knowledge; Teacher knowledge; Subject knowledge; Knowledge metaphors; Personal subject construct
• ISSN: 0957-7572; 1573-1804
• DOI: 10.1007/s10798-008-9050-z

In this issue of the International Journal of Technology and Design, we report on a series of case studies from the second phase of an international project—Developing Professional Thinking for Technology Teachers (DEPTH2). The first phase of the project was a study conducted with both primary and secondary technology pre-service teacher education students in a number of different countries who were given the same teacher-knowledge graphical framework as a tool to support reflection on their professional knowledge. We discovered that, despite the different country contexts, student teachers of technology could articulate aspects of their developing teacher knowledge using the same framework for teacher professional development. As previously reported in this journal (Banks et al. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 14 , 141–157, 2004), the common graphical tool enabled them to set out their subject knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and ‘school’ knowledge and was useful in helping them become more self-aware. In this second phase of the project we have developed this line of research in two ways. First, we extended the range of participants to include experienced teachers involved in in-service work connected to curriculum development. Second, we looked at the inter-relationship for pre-service teachers between their developing professional knowledge and their own ‘personal subject construct’. In this article, the theoretical framework for the subsequent papers is described and set in the context of recent debates surrounding the nature and importance of teacher knowledge; and the way such professional knowledge can be articulated by teachers.