Fostering teachers’ adoption of Moodle: an action-research framed on evolutionary game theory

Abstract

Despite several studies’ conclusions about the great potential of Learning Management Systems like Moodle for educational and professional practices in schools, many authors find a reduced use of this tool in school’s pedagogical and organizational contexts. This article presents an action-research carried out in a Portuguese school, where it was intended to understand, from an Evolutionary Game Theory perspective, the survival and expansion of the using-Moodle behavior in a population of teachers. Some mechanisms studied in this theory influenced the actions negotiated with school leadership and implemented throughout the investigation, and the analysis of their impact. School leadership use of Moodle forums and the frequent interactions between Moodle users proved to be catalysts of the desired change, suggesting the importance of social reinforcement for the adoption of this tool.