The objective of this research was to increase understanding of a conceptual change process in pedagogical thinking of polytechnic teachers as they were producing and later teaching their first online courses. The research was con-ducted at Lahti University of Applied Sciences. At the centre of the research were the central constructivist concepts that most clearly differ from the tradi-tional, behaviourist orientation: a teacher’s role as a facilitator, student-centredness and social interaction. The research process followed the principles of constructivism drawing from the researcher’s personal experience and involvement. First a questionnaire sur-vey was conducted on polytechnic teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learn-ing and their use of Information and Communication Technologies in instruction. A proportionate random sample was drawn from the whole population, 194 per-manent teachers in the polytechnic, yielding a final sample size of 65 teachers, of whom 49 completed the questionnaire. The data thus gathered were analyzed by means of simple frequency counts on Statistica.

These results were used to inform a subsequent in-house training programme for 20 teachers in the Faculty of Technology. Thus supported, teachers produced eight manuscripts for online instruction, of which four were realized as online courses or parts of courses. A sample of five teachers was then selected for deeper analysis of their conceptual change process. They were interviewed based on the analysis of their manuscripts and online materials. Interviews were ana-lyzed as narratives on the levels of utterance and enunciation using an Actantial model to reveal what teachers considered important in teaching and learning and what their attitudes were towards their students and the online environment used. This analysis method provided a way to make the conceptual change process visible for research and showed how entreched beliefs may affect learning of new concepts. Results indicate that polytechnic teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learn-ing are in transition although traditional teaching approaches still mainly prevail. Manuscripts show awareness of, and familiarity with, new constructivist con-cepts, but teaching online seems to be content-based, and courses material-heavy. Teachers disappear from their online courses, while students work alone on online tasks. Interaction and collaboration are missing. This research indicates that teachers’ insufficient knowledge of new learning theories and, as a result, a lack of thorough understanding of related concepts, leads to misconceptions and unsuccessful online solutions. The study suggests that intentional conceptual change is required of teachers in order to transform their conceptions.