ERIC Number: EJ877924
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-1629
EISSN: N/A
Technology-Supported Learning Innovation in Cultural Contexts
Zhang, Jianwei
Educational Technology Research and Development, v58 n2 p229-243 Apr 2010
Many reform initiatives adopt a reductionist, proceduralized approach to cultural change, assuming that deep changes can be realized by introducing new classroom activities, textbooks, and technological tools. This article elaborates a complex system perspective of learning culture: A learning culture as a complex system involves macro-level properties (e.g., epistemological beliefs, social values, power structures) and micro-level features (e.g., technology, classroom activities). Deep changes in macro-level properties cannot be reduced to any component. This complex system perspective is applied to examining technology-supported educational change in East Asia and analyzing how teachers sustain the knowledge building innovation in different contexts. Working with the macro-micro dynamics in a learning culture requires a principle-based approach to learning innovation that specifies macro-level changes using principle-based instead of procedure-based terms and engages teachers' deep reflection and creative engagement at both the macro- and the micro-level.
Descriptors: Educational Innovation, Social Values, Epistemology, Systems Approach, Change Strategies, Cultural Context, Teacher Behavior, Educational Technology, Technology Integration, Program Implementation, Teaching Methods, Educational Environment, Educational Principles, Educational Change, Foreign Countries
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Asia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A