Technology integration in physics education: using teachers’ age, gender, and teaching experience to explore differences in cognitive engagement strategies

The increasingly important role of technology underscores the need for students to acquire 21st-century skills, including a deep understanding of science. As teaching with technology can be highly effective in promoting students’ learning processes, it is important for physics teachers to properly leverage technology in the classroom. We examine physics teachers’ intentions to use technology-enhanced strategies for cognitive engagement (CE). Specifically, we examine the difference in CE strategies of the ICAP theory (interactive, constructive, active, and passive CE) employed by physics teachers of different ages, genders, and teaching experiences. After 187 physics teachers across Austria filled out the ICAP Technology Scale, we analysed the data utilizing t-test and ANOVA. We report that for higher forms of CE, physics teachers express lower intentions to promote the specific CE strategy. No significant differences in teachers’ CE strategies were observed for different age groups or teaching experience levels. However, a significant disparity was observed between teachers of different genders. Specifically, male physics teachers expressed a higher propensity for CE strategies across all forms of CE. Our findings highlight that future teacher training programs and professional development initiatives should acknowledge the gender disparity in teachers’ CE strategies and adapt their practices to address this issue.