The Future of Education
The Role of the Teacher under the Digital Paradigm. A Study on Didactic Materials Intended for High School Teachers in Argentina
Carolina Luciana Tosi, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (Conicet) (Argentina)
Abstract
Carolina Tosi (University of Buenos Aires – CONICET, Argentina)
According to various research studies (Coll, 2009; Kope & Kalantzis, 2009 and Adell, 2010), new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are optimal didactic resources, but their potentialities are mediated by teacher practices and representations constructed on pedagogic subjects, knowledge and learning. In effect, the role assumed by teachers, in relation to underlying imaginaries, will be essential to guarantee –or not– the integration of ICTs in the teaching process. From this starting point, this study analyses the social representations constructed around the role of high school teachers, with the goal of inquiring the tension that originates between traditional teacher practices and new ones, as they emerge from a digital paradigm. The corpus used consists of two types of materials intended for high school teachers: a printed and a digital one, both recently published in Argentina and exposing different constructs. On the one hand, we analyze the representation of the teacher in Teacher’s Books published as accompanying materials to coursebooks produced by editorial houses. On the other hand, we examine the representation of teachers in the web site www.educ.ar, the educational portal of the Argentine State that offers gratis digital resources. Through our analysis, we show the tension between the construction of a passive teacher, centered in a corpus of closed information, and the representation of an autonomous teacher who must organize resources and generate new forms of teaching. As it becomes evident, we deal with dissimilar representations that evidence opposed notions of learning and knowledge. As these notions coexist, they undoubtedly generate conflicts in the teaching practices. Finally, our approach reflects on the challenge that imposes the digital paradigm and the need to implement actions that accompany teachers in the transformation of their role in a new educational landscape.
References
Adell, J. 2010. “Internet en educación”. Comunicación y pedagogía, pp. 25-28.
Coll, C. 2009. “Aprender y enseñar con las TIC: expectativas, realidad y potencialidades”. En Carneiro, R., Toscano, J. y Díaz, T. Los desafíos de las TIC para el cambio educativo. Madrid: Santillana, pp. 113-126
Kope, B. y Kalantzis, M. 2009. “Aprendizaje obicuo. Una agenda para la transformación educativa”. En Aprendizaje obicuo. Illinois: Universidad de Illinois Press. Traducción: Emilio Quintana, p. 1-15.
