The Process of Microtechnological Innovation in Two Primary Schools: a case study of teachers’ thinking

Abstract

This case study of the process of microtechnological innovation in two primary schools was based on teacher interviews and classroom observation over a two year period. During the first year individual teachers were interviewed about their educational practice and attitude to innovation generally; they were subsequently observed working with children and microprocessors as part of the school curriculum. In the second year teachers with responsibility allowances and special interests in microtechnology were interviewed again, in small groups. These groups were asked to discuss instances of developing practice and the nature of school policy about microtechnology as it evolved. Observation of classroom practice centred on how resources were being deployed and developed by individual teachers and as part of an evolving curriculum perspective. It was observed that both teachers’ thinking and school planning reached a plateau achieved mainly by empirical trial‐and‐error testing. It is suggested that to go beyond this point teachers need further opportunities to develop their understanding of microtechnology's capacity to transform certain aspects of the primary school curriculum.