Kinley Kinley: Professional Development through Participatory Design - An Attempt to Enhance ICT Use in teaching at the Royal University of Bhutan
The present study was designed to determine an effective approach to enhance the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching by the faculty at Samtse College of Education (SCE) in Bhutan.
The significance of technology for the teaching and learning process in the 21st century is discussed at length in the introduction chapter. Additionally, the status and importance given to technology by the government of Bhutan is described in the introduction chapter. Furthermore, the various initiatives and investment programs launched at Royal University of Bhutan in general and SCE in particular to respond to the changing pedagogic practices in the educational arena due to the penetration of technology is discussed in depth. The discussion on this issue is extended to the literature study related to the concept of integrating ICT in teaching in higher education as contextualized to the current study.
A professional development process referred to as an intervention workshop (a one time workshop followed by a pilot study) in the current study has been implemented using the future workshop approach and participatory design methodology. The aim of the intervention workshop and pilot study was not to empower the faculty at SCE as technological experts. Rather, it was designed to assist the lecturers in the following: To reflect on their pedagogic practices; consider the need to rethink pedagogy with ICT; enable them to realize the significance of technology in teaching in the 21st century; motivate and assist them
in redesigning the lessons integrating ICT; and motivate and support the enhanced use of ICT in teaching.
The overall findings show that the use of an intervention workshop within the future workshop framework and the use of a participatory design approach with scaffolding during pilot projects enhance the use of ICT in teaching.
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