Teaching for conceptual understanding relates to ensuring that students acquire the correct theoretical foundation through ICT. It is necessary to establish the knowledge that the student requires, as well as the knowledge the lecturer should project. Content knowledge and theoretical understanding are equally essential ingredients, as one participant reiterated:
“If I use ICT the content knowledge that I would gain from ICT, alright that content knowledge that I would get from ICT it improves my theoretical understanding. Alright and the content knowledge that you will get is not only for one particular source, but you can get it from many
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different sources and each of the sources will confirm the kind of information that you require”. (L3)
This comment reflects the importance of using a variety of sources to develop conceptual understanding. The most important issue here is how the lecturer uses these enablers in curriculum delivery, and encourages the students to use them as well, in order to build their understanding of the theory.
Giving students tasks that pertain to current issues drives them to seek the information required; in this way they learn and improve their content and theoretical knowledge. This is reflected in L4’s illustration:
“… okay, when I mentioned the aspect about hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ and I only used that as an example and gave it to a group to prepare a presentation. What I found was surprising, was when they did the presentation, the kind of information that they were able to bring across.
Encouraging students to acquire ICT skills independently, so as to research and develop theoretical and content knowledge for themselves seems to be effective, though there could be some danger of their proceeding without the necessary coaching:
“……. they went and researched for themselves. So that particular student that started off
knowing absolutely nothing fracking can you imagine by the time they did the presentation without me having to teach it to them. They were able to come up and if you go and pose a question to them now about fracking, I am sure they will be able to enlighten you based on what they have learned, because of the readings that they have done. So I think that is how we try and make sure that students learn and they improve their content and theoretical knowledge”. (L4)
This is evidence of a lecturer living the reality of the integration of technology, demonstrating an understanding of how technology can help transform learning and providing quality curriculum delivery.
It appears that most lecturers assign tasks to compel students to become familiar with such ICT tools as they might encounter in their career paths, thus to some extent equipping them with knowhow regarding such resources. One student participant (S1) claimed:
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“So rather we have to do some research and gather some information, relevant information, and then you write that presentation and you are going to use the projector. We also use internet to gather some information. Then some of the information you prepare a
presentation and then you present that project to your class and the lecturer illustrate the projector”. (S5)
Requiring students to use ICTs in the performance of assigned tasks helps develop their creativity, their conceptual development and their interpretation of issues contextually.
L3 commented:
“….my post graduate students, one of the things that we always do, is if I get into the office I try to explain to them the data bases. I try to explain to them information that is out there, that they are able to access. How they are able to access information and so on”.
Thus, students should be supported in the use of ICT in digging for information and identifying appropriate websites and search engines that can contribute to conceptualisation and skill development. This should be extended to ITE students, since they arguably need it most for the prospective teaching environment. The participant further claimed:
“I spend some time trying to make sure that they are familiar with these things, so they must not come and tell me there are no ratings or there is no information out there. So that is why you take them through the process of identifying the data basis, identifying different sources of information that they are able to access and that is very useful, especially for them at the post graduate level”.(L3)
Regarding inculcating the habit of using ICT for a lifetime of learning, a few of the lecturers access websites and suggest that students do the same, in this way helping them keep abreast of the changes taking place around them, and engaging with new developments. L3 stressed:
“I always say to them okay, but you can also give me something new, either read in the newspaper or on the internet. So it means that already they are searching for new information, relevant information. What is important is that they have got to keep science current”. (L3)
Thus is brought together ontology, epistemology, pedagogy and the appropriate use of technology as enablers to develop students’ content knowledge, and theoretical
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knowledge, as well as conceptual understanding, thus serving, to some extent, to position them in the 21st century digital space domain.