Pedagogic shift - in international virtual schools

Defining Pedagogic Shift

Pedagogic shift can be seen as a change of existing teaching practices, which may or may not be transformational in nature. In the context of this research study, pedagogic shift is defined as a process where teachers engage with each other to change their current isolated teaching practices to teaching in collaboration with others through the integration of web-based communication technologies into those new teaching practices. Teaching practices can be viewed as those strategies (the tasks) and learning designs (the logistics) that enable teachers to practice their craft of teaching. Implicit to this definition is the idea that teachers engage collaboratively in pedagogic shift to improve their teaching practices as individuals and as a group for the benefit of their students. The research for this thesis has shown that central to the definition of pedagogic shift is the concept of a ‘learning journey’, which is based in a social constructivist paradigm.