Changing Teacher Beliefs through ICT: Comparing a Blended and Online Teacher Training Program

Teachers’ beliefs towards learning, teaching and ICT may have a strong impact on how learning opportunities are designed and implemented. However, research has shown that providing effective opportunities for teachers to develop skills and competence with ICT tools in order that they effectively redesign their learning environments are not straightforward. In this study we examined two teacher training programmes, both multidisciplinary, that aimed to use and develop understanding of learning and teaching as well as ICT as it related to practice of teachers. In Study 1, 74 teachers from eight higher education institutes in the Netherlands participated in an online teacher training module. In Study 2, 31 teachers from one higher education institute in the UK participated in a blended approach. Data were gathered by using the Teacher Beliefs and Intentions (TBI) instrument of Norton et al. (2005), in a pre-post test design, in order to measure changes in the participants’ beliefs and intentions towards knowledge transmissions and learning facilitation. The results indicate that the teacher beliefs and intentions in the online programme have not substantially changed during the module, although the beliefs towards knowledge transmission were lower in the post-test. In contrast, participants in the blended programme have significantly increased their beliefs and intention towards learning facilitation. Future research should assess the long-term impact of blended and online teacher training programmes on students’ learning experiences.