Abstract:

In a shrinking more connected world, web based communication technologies play an increasingly important role in educating younger generations. However, the process of change that teachers must go through to accommodate the appropriate use of web based communication technologies for teaching and learning is a complex process, which can be viewed from multiple perspectives.

This presentation reports on a completed PhD research study, which explores pedagogic shift (change) in the context of a virtual international school spanning five different countries within the European Union. It adopts an interpretive paradigm of research to explore perceptions of teachers in the virtual international school over the course of four years from 2009-2013. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, a variety of data collection techniques were employed over the course of three different cycles of research. Each cycle built on the previous cycle through an in depth analysis of the data, which enabled the emergence of a model called the Pre Adoption of Technology (PAT) model.

Findings from this research point to the importance of understanding change as a learning journey, which necessarily takes time and is influenced by a variety of factors in which effective leadership plays a central role. Additionally, the research shows how through processes such as understanding each others’ different perspectives and the way technologies are harnessed, change is facilitated and a sense of community is built, all play an important role in enabling pedagogic shift to take place.

Keywords:

Pedagogic shift, virtual international school, technology adoption, transformational change.