Towards Capturing Teacher Agency Manifestations Within Orchestration Activities: A Conceptual-Analytical Framework

Teacher agency is critical in understanding the adoption and impact of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) innovations, especially involving Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. Despite its importance, few analytical frameworks operationalize how technologies mediate teacher agency within orchestration (i.e., the coordination of multiple learning activities across social levels). This paper introduces the TAMOA (Teacher Agency Manifestations within Orchestration Activities) framework, which integrates agency models with orchestration dimensions in TEL. TAMOA enables the identification of both observable actions and reflective processes through which teachers exert agency in the design, management, awareness, and adaptation of technology-mediated learning activities. We illustrate the framework’s utility through a case study involving ethics training in higher education, supported by a collaborative learning platform. Our study reveals how TAMOA facilitates the interpretation of teacher agency manifestations and informs future inquiry into the role of agency in this particular TEL system. This sort of analysis can be helpful design and orchestrate TEL (especially, intelligent) systems in a way that respects practitioners’ agency.