Blending Digital Literacy and Pedagogical Innovation: Enhancing Teacher Competence for Transformative ICT-based Curriculum Delivery
Kudirat O. Femi-Adeoye *
Educational Foundation and Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Specialised and Professional Education, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Educators must connect their expertise of digital literacy with instructional advancements to deliver quality educational content through ICT platforms because of rapid digital adoption in education. The successful integration of ICT causes significant obstacles for classrooms because they struggle with inadequate facilities and insufficient training and hesitancy toward adopting modern teaching approaches. Research indicates that teaching methods which integrate digital literacy education produce effective educator competencies which help educators address their institutional and systemic challenges.
Aim: The present study examine show blending digital literacy and pedagogical innovation enhances teacher competence.
Method: The study utilized survey research techniques to examine 117 secondary STEM teachers operating within Oyo Metropolis of Nigeria. The collected data from the structured questionnaire demonstrated its validity through expert approval before researchers used descriptive statistics and percentage dependent analysis to interpret the results.
Results: Study results showed that the majority of teachers (77%) demonstrated digital tool competence yet time limitations affected 81.2% of teachers and technical problems impacted 76.9% of teachers. Among the studied group, 72.6% accepted pedagogical innovation although 81.2% indicated that long preparation schedules were their main hindrance. A large majority of educators (85.5%) presented positive views about blended learning but assessment approaches were identified by 78.6% of teachers as sticking to traditional educational approaches. The research demonstrates that qualified teachers need entire institutional support together with suitable infrastructure and prepared digital learners in order to advance effective digital learning initiatives.
Conclusion: Educational stakeholders must collaborate to offer joint educational and technological training to teachers and develop peer-based mentoring systems and assess blending learning approaches against real classroom settings. Transformation needs fundamental system-level modifications for eliminating administrative troubles and distributing resources equally to achieve effective implementation of ICT.
Keywords: Digital literacy, pedagogical innovation, ICT integration, teacher competence, blended learning