The challenges and benefits to teachers' practices in constructivist learning environments supported by technology

This research is intended for educational policy makers. This is an exploratory study that investigates Quebec's classrooms as a new educational reform is implemented. There are two relevant pieces of legislation in the reform that elicited this study. First, teachers are required to adopt constructivist teaching practices; second, teachers must use ICT in classrooms. The questions being addressed are: (1) What are the current challenges and benefits impacting teachers with the integration of computers in the classroom environment? (2) What do classroom practices look like given (a) in the context of Quebec's constructivist-learning environment and (b) the possibility of ICT support. Case studies with teachers from elementary and high schools show changes in teacher and student role; however, lack of guidelines hinder constructivist teaching practices. Five predominant challenges were identified: lack of personal development, lack of time, technical support, accessibility, and classroom management. The study also identifies five elements as benefits: sharing of information; communication; editing; monitoring; web access.