*2.2.7. Resources and technology*

Reflection and continual assessment can be accomplished both individually and as part of an organizational culture that supports collaborative reflection [41]—devoting time to it and

In my study, participants expressed adaptation mainly regarding willingness to take risks, handle or even invite uncertainty, and flexibility. Teachers who hack in school expressed tolerance of uncertainty in many occasions and provided examples that demonstrate it. A teacher who was exploring PBL said, "I love the idea,…everything about it. But there's nothing out there that really shows me what to do." In an ever-changing world, those teachers embraced the understanding that today's methods might be not relevant tomorrow and "that's OK." Participants discussed flexibility in two ways, first referring to the amount of freedom schools give teachers in deciding what and how they teach and second, addressing their ability to react to changing situations and conditions. The teachers were not expecting linear changes and welcomed the process itself. One teacher shared, "It's like you plant this little seed….I

Darling-Hammond and Bransford also emphasized that teachers should be prepared to become "adaptive experts" who develop skills and knowledge continuously [27]. Khan referred to embracing uncertainty as the constant adaptation and acceptance that is the nature of teaching and learning today [42]. Indeed, to create change, one should avoid the status quo

Teacher education programs should communicate to students that this uncertainty is part of the nature of the profession. Teachers work with individuals; no days will look the same and no lessons can be taught exactly as planned. Understanding this can liberate new teachers and

Seven of eight participants spontaneously brought up the subject of taking risks, indicating they perceive this to be a central issue. One participant explained, "A lot of people I have interacted with feel worried about like, 'What if I do something wrong?' where[as] I definitely grew up thinking you just try it and if it doesn't work, you try something else. You have to actually be quite confident in your ability to fail at things." Another participant added that to be an innovator, "you have to be willing to fail in public." This willingness to admit failure

The risk-taking concept and behavior was also well connected in the results to themes of pedagogy, innovation, and failure, making it an important characteristic of being an educational hacker. In addition to a personal inclination toward taking risks, this behavior seemed connected with experience and professional confidence. Risk-taking was not traditionally considered a quality of good teachers; nevertheless, it dominates in theories of change [44]. Robinson shared the story of Suzan Jeffers, who wrote the book, *Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway*, showing that fear can prevent people from entering a situation in which they feel threatened; [15] thus, they lose a possible learning experience [45]. Mezirow referred to similar emotions

*As I get older, I realize that I do not want to subscribe to anyway one form of thinking.*

don't give tests, nothing happens. The sky hasn't fallen, kids are happy."

dominated, as most (*n* = 6) participants described their own failures.

and claimed the first phase of a learning process is a *disorienting dilemma* [46].

valuing teachers who reflect and share their contemplations.

*2.2.6. Adaptation (uncertainty, flexibility, and risk-taking)*

110 Contemporary Pedagogies in Teacher Education and Development

and "shake" the system [42, 43].

support them in adopting a hacker identity.

When the study participants talked about resources, they referred to (a) actual resources such as time, technology, and space and (b) their abilities to obtain and proactively use those resources—meaning, teachers who hack did not necessary have more assets but worked better with what they had. They maximized the use of existing resources or acted to access more for themselves and their students.

All participants mentioned time as an important and even crucial resource in their ability to hack their teaching. One stated, "I think it has a lot to do with whether or not you have the time to innovate and think about things and like trying new things." The resource of time was associated with other themes such as collaboration ("Being able to sit down and talk to your peers is so valuable"), and several teachers stressed that shared time, structured into the schedule, is necessary to collaborate with colleagues.

In addition to time, teachers who hack discussed technology and its connection with pedagogy, new skills, and communication and collaboration tools. Frequently (41%), participants raised issues related to technology juxtaposed with pedagogy. They shared examples of how technological tools supported their new pedagogies. For example, one participant gave her students a project that included making a book trailer and inserting QR codes (matrix barcodes) on their individual websites. Another teacher used an app called ChatterPix that can make a picture talk. She assigned the students a biography project in which they drew a picture of someone they had researched and then presented the talking picture in the classroom.

In my study, technology influenced participants' communication with students and parents and served as a personal development tool, a way to collaborate with colleagues, and a pedagogical tool in the classroom to support individualize learning. Teachers addressed technology in terms of the problems it helped solve or the goals it helped reach, as well as new challenges it embodied. Their ability to use technology also related to risk-taking. As one participant commented, "Innovating with technology is feeling comfortable with it."

The study findings regarding technology's central role in education reform corresponded with a plethora of recent reports, books, and articles [48–51]. Alan November, an international leader in education technology, made an important distinction between technology and innovation [51]. He illuminated that not every technology-based learning or teaching is innovative and stated that educators' focus should move beyond the device and toward the design of learning. For example, adding a digital device to the classroom without a fundamental change in the culture of teaching and learning would not lead to significant improvement in student learning. Unless clear goals across the curriculum—such as the use of math to solve real problems—are articulated at the outset, one-to-one computing becomes "spray and pray" ([52], p. 1).

understood the value of breaking the loneliness of teaching and devoted time and efforts to

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The literature supported the benefits of collaborative practice as well. "The work of educators in schools is greater than the sum of the individual parts" ([27], p. 13). When writing about breaking the leadership roles, power stated that schools must see themselves as a part of "communities of practice," [3, 18, 53] groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly [50]. Future teachers

A model in Australia included learning circles, or "learning communities of preservice teachers who are placed together in the same on-campus workshop and in the same school for their professional experience placement, and who meet regularly throughout the professional experience for professional dialogue."([32], p. 197) This practicum model positioned student teachers as responsible for their own professional learning and for contributing to a professional learning community, which differed from the passive role usually adopted in a tradi-

*Each participant is not only to share their experiences and learning, but also to listen actively to their peers and ask enabling questions that will assist their peers to explore on a deeper level their own un-*

The responsibility for taking an active role and guiding their own learning can help future teachers navigate an educational environment that is (or should be) continually changing. Juxtaposed with the importance of collaboration, participants in my study depicted collaboration with colleagues as problematic. They addressed the complexity of maintaining collaborative relationships in their day-to-day school lives due to issues of time, technology, motivation, coordination, and space. Teachers who hack often described themselves in the school setting using metaphors such as "lone wolf" or "an island." They discussed some loneliness as built into the teaching profession and some as part of the role teachers take upon themselves. Correspondingly, the literature acknowledged that many teachers feel the school and district organizational structures often discourage teamwork and that most teaching

Helping prospect teachers reflect on the difficulties and develop strategies to improve their ability to collaborate also has a place in teacher education. Thus, teacher education programs should encourage community-of-learner practices during teacher preparation. That way, students develop the habit of collaboration and understand the benefits of being part of a professional

Teachers who hack and can disrupt the public education from within are idealistic and adaptive and use resources effectively. The term *hacking* to describe the innovative actions of public

should have the habits and skills to collaborate as an integrative part of their actions.

being part of a community.

tional practicum. Le Cornu explained:

work is done alone [27].

community.

**3. Conclusion**

*derstandings of what they are learning ([32], p. 198).*

Teacher education programs have two strategies to influence teachers' use of technology: They can teach about it or they can practice it. Similar to technology integration into schools, integration into teacher preparation must serve learning goals and not be conducted just for the sake of adding technology. Technology is not a tool; it is a platform for learning, sharing information, connecting, and communicating. Teacher education programs should aspire to integrate technology and digital citizenship practices into *everything*. University professors should serve as role models for good technology integration in everyday learning and teaching, allowing students in education schools to experience for themselves the advantages (and challenges) of technology integration and then practice it better as teachers.

Another good platform is the practicum phase. The university can encourage on-the-job learning for student teachers coupled in a mentoring relationship in schools. Universities can also choose to work with and in K–12 schools that face challenges and practice technology integration at a high level.

Teacher education programs should encourage students to reflect about their digital experiences in addition to their experiences as learners. This conversation can help future teachers take risks, try new methods, and develop their professional identities as teachers in the twenty-first century.

#### *2.2.8. Collaboration and learning communities*

*I don't think some people realize the importance.…You don't have to be in a bubble, like on an island by yourself.*

Changes in the ways teachers act occur not only in the classroom. Participants in my study described relationships with others as generally positive ways to share ideas, accept failures, promote shared goals, solve problems, and brainstorm solutions. One aspect of working with colleagues regarded mentoring relationships. A young teacher described, "You start to realize again, okay I'm learning and eventually I will be where this person is after 35 years. So it puts you at ease a little bit, too." This sentiment holds true not only for novice teachers. One participant stressed the importance of investing the time to create professional networks. Another described how communicating with others who do not necessarily think the way she thinks helped her clarify her own thinking and better articulate her pedagogic principles. A veteran teacher kept in touch with friends who worked with her at her last school to "bounce ideas off all the time."

Teachers who hack tended to subscribe to blogs and were active members of Facebook groups, allowing them to both inspire and be inspired by educators from all over the world. They understood the value of breaking the loneliness of teaching and devoted time and efforts to being part of a community.

The literature supported the benefits of collaborative practice as well. "The work of educators in schools is greater than the sum of the individual parts" ([27], p. 13). When writing about breaking the leadership roles, power stated that schools must see themselves as a part of "communities of practice," [3, 18, 53] groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly [50]. Future teachers should have the habits and skills to collaborate as an integrative part of their actions.

A model in Australia included learning circles, or "learning communities of preservice teachers who are placed together in the same on-campus workshop and in the same school for their professional experience placement, and who meet regularly throughout the professional experience for professional dialogue."([32], p. 197) This practicum model positioned student teachers as responsible for their own professional learning and for contributing to a professional learning community, which differed from the passive role usually adopted in a traditional practicum. Le Cornu explained:

*Each participant is not only to share their experiences and learning, but also to listen actively to their peers and ask enabling questions that will assist their peers to explore on a deeper level their own understandings of what they are learning ([32], p. 198).*

The responsibility for taking an active role and guiding their own learning can help future teachers navigate an educational environment that is (or should be) continually changing.

Juxtaposed with the importance of collaboration, participants in my study depicted collaboration with colleagues as problematic. They addressed the complexity of maintaining collaborative relationships in their day-to-day school lives due to issues of time, technology, motivation, coordination, and space. Teachers who hack often described themselves in the school setting using metaphors such as "lone wolf" or "an island." They discussed some loneliness as built into the teaching profession and some as part of the role teachers take upon themselves. Correspondingly, the literature acknowledged that many teachers feel the school and district organizational structures often discourage teamwork and that most teaching work is done alone [27].

Helping prospect teachers reflect on the difficulties and develop strategies to improve their ability to collaborate also has a place in teacher education. Thus, teacher education programs should encourage community-of-learner practices during teacher preparation. That way, students develop the habit of collaboration and understand the benefits of being part of a professional community.
