Computers and learning in primary schools: a case study in teacher development

This paper describes teacher development issues arising in a school based collaborative case study, the Computers and Learning in Primary Schools (CLIPS) research project. This longitudinal project has been based in five schools in Melbourne, Australia since 1992. This paper includes relevant exhacts from the data of one of the case studies and discussion of some overall findings of the project. It is written from the perspective of one of the university teachers involved in the project. The paper focuses on nine leading statements emerging from the analysis of a series of teacher interviews: . the key to professional development is purposeful enquiry through reflection on action: metacognition in practice; . personal challenge and interpersonal collaboration is a successful recipe for professional developmen! . developing successful teaching strategies is an important focus for teacher developmen! . the university researcher needs to be involved in a wider context than iust as a computer exper! . it is important to link the computer research project with the classroom curriculum; . gender issues are cenhal to the effective use of computers in education; . often, when students work with computers, producing a finished product is not the object of their attention and need not be stressed in order to achieve a learning objective; . HyperCard (software for the Apple Macintosh, Apple Computeq, Inc.) is a creative tool that promotes metacognitive thhking . the interviewer is part of the collaborative team and the interviews are a significant aspect of the teacher's prof essional development.