Teacher Professional Development supported by Information and Communication Technologies: A Case Study of the “Teacher Training Program for Curricular Update 2016-2018 in Ecuador”

Demands have increased on governments and public policy to provide quality
teacher training. The approaches and models that characterize teacher professional
development (TPD) systems vary across countries, as does the level of digital
technologies used for their provision. This article presents the case study of the
Teacher Training Program for Curricular Update in Ecuador, 2016-2018. It is a
national TPD initiative of the Ministry for Education of Ecuador based on a Massive
Open Online Course (MOOC) model, which covered 187,376 teachers (out of a total
population of 217,000 teachers) and achieved a high pass rate of 66.5%. The study of
this program helps to understand two concepts: 1) how the state can use ICTs to
substantially expand access to and improve professional learning at scale and 2) the
teachers’ perceptions of these learning experiences. The findings reveal tensions
to be resolved between the criteria of access and quality of training, as well as
discrepancies between public policy objectives and teachers’ expectations of their
professional learning activities.

(Excerpt from the Abstract)