Chapter 17: Conceptual Change in Pre-service Teacher Technology Preparation

Today, it is paramount that teacher preparation programs develop and implement instructional programs that enable future teachers to fully understand the learning implications of computers. The challenge to effectively prepare new teachers in technology integration is complicated by the belief systems they possess. Many pre-service teachers enter teacher education courses with strongly-held objectivist beliefs about teaching, learning and the role of the computer in the educational process. If instruction is not designed to directly confront these preconceptions, pre-service teachers will use their existing objectivist beliefs about teaching and learning to study and understand pedagogy and technology integration. In this chapter we present a conceptual change-based theoretical framework for pre-service teacher technology preparation. Using the original four-stage conceptual change model as the basis of our theoretical framework, we propose a three-stage conceptual change model for pre-service teacher technology preparation in which acknowledging, creating, and sustaining dissatisfaction are essential for accommodation to occur.