April 10, 2020 Journal article Open Access

Teachers' concerns about adopting technology-enhanced embodied learning and their mitigation through Professional Development

Yiannis Georgiou; Andri Ioannou

Technology-enhanced embodied learning is argued to have the potential to revolutionize K-12 education. Despite the affordances of technology-enhanced embodied learning, its integration in mainstream education is currently at slow pace. Slow adoption of technological innovation is not a new issue in the education arena. Several factors are contributing to why in-service teachers are being reluctant to adopt educational innovations. This study investigated the concerns of 31 in-service primary education teachers about adopting technology-enhanced embodied learning using the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). A Professional Development (PD) programme composed of two phases – a Training phase (including experiential workshops) and a Practical phase (including teachers’ enactment of technology-enhanced embodied learning in their classrooms) – allowed for the mitigation of these concerns. By the end of the PD programme teachers retained only some high-level concerns, which are essential for the scalability and sustainability of technology-enhanced embodied learning. The study elaborates on the use of the CBAM model and provides a rich description of our PD programme, which can inform future efforts in this area. Taking into account and addressing teachers’ concerns through PD lays the groundwork for the successful adoption of technology-enhanced embodied learning to nourish education.