The Teacher as Re-Designer of Technology Integrated Activities for an Early Literacy Curriculum

Though popular among children outside of school, Dutch teachers often struggle to offer technology integrated activities in the kindergarten classroom. Because involving teachers in development of technology integrated activities can support their implementation, this study examines teachers in the role of re-designing such activities. Two case studies (Year 1 and Year 2) were undertaken in 2 consecutive years involving six teachers in re-design. Interviews were held to examine teacher team perceptions about their role as re-designers. Implementation of the re-designed activities was observed in five classes. A non-equivalent control quasi experimental design was used to investigate pupil learning outcomes (Year 1: N = 102; Year 2: N = 119). Pupils in experimental groups outperformed pupils in control groups on early literacy. While the extent of integration increased as implementation continued, this could not explain the differences found in learning gains