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Teachers’ Comfort Level and School Support in Using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to Enhance Spatial Thinking

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Learning Geography Beyond the Traditional Classroom

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Abstract

Recent rapid advancement of technologies has increased the sophistication of classroom instruction and provided a broad spectrum of new possibilities to develop and enhance students’ learning. Based on a review of previous studies conducted in Singapore, it has been found that school leadership has some effect on teachers’ comfort level in using ICT for teaching and learning. This chapter discusses how school leaders and middle managers influence geography teachers’ comfort level in using ICT to enhance spatial thinking in students. Through surveys and interviews with ten practising geography teachers, the authors conclude that the middle managers play a vital role in sculpting an appropriate system and culture essential for teachers to feel comfortable when using ICT in their lessons. However, the chapter will also discuss the idea that geography teachers are mostly comfortable delivering only ICT-enabled lessons that involve ‘spatial observation’, and that school leaders and middle managers play a role in shaping these tendencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Zhang Hua’an Noah & Tricia Seow

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  1. Zhang Hua’an Noah
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  2. Tricia Seow
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Correspondence to Zhang Hua’an Noah or Tricia Seow .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Chew-Hung Chang

  2. National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Bing Sheng Wu

  3. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Tricia Seow

  4. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Kim Irvine

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Noah, Z.H., Seow, T. (2018). Teachers’ Comfort Level and School Support in Using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to Enhance Spatial Thinking. In: Chang, CH., Wu, B., Seow, T., Irvine, K. (eds) Learning Geography Beyond the Traditional Classroom. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8705-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8705-9_12

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