Four in Balance Monitor 2011 - downloads.kennisn... - Kennisnet

5
Expertise
Computers often assume some of a teacher’s instructional duties,
but this does not make the teacher superfluous. On the contrary, a
teacher who has mastered ICT skills plays a vital role in making ICTdriven
education more effective. In their own estimation, six out of
ten teachers have now mastered the necessary skills.
As is the case in many other occupations, ICT has become inseparably
bound up with professionalism in teaching. Although there is only a
minimal indication of this in the formal educational requirements or
professional competences prescribed for the teaching profession in the
Netherlands, a growing number of teachers use ICT in the classroom
without giving it a second thought. Although ICT is set to play an
increasingly important role in education, the teacher will remain very
important (redecker, 2010) and the use of ICT is expected to vary the
teacher’s duties and the role that he or she plays (hoogeveen, 2010).
Teachers’ professional expertise depends on:
1. their familiarity with the options that ICT can offer (Section 5.1)
2. the skill with which they use ICT in their teaching (Section 5.2)
5.1 Familiarity
Teachers are constantly making choices when preparing and giving lessons.
If they want to make responsible choices, then at the very least they need
to know which professional tools they have at their disposal. Increasingly,
one of these tools is ICT.
The percentage of teachers who believe that they are sufficiently or more
than sufficiently familiar with the various options that ICT can offer
them has increased in the past few years to 66% (Figure 5.1). This seems
like an impressive number, but it also means that a third of teachers feel
inadequately informed.
5 - EXPErTISE
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