Chapter 6: Professional Development, Technology in Schools: Suggestions, Tools, and Guidelines for Assessing Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education

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'..When professional development is redefined as a central part of teaching, most decisions and plans related to embedding professional development in the daily work life of teachers will be made at the local school level. Some reformers have recommended that at least 20 percent of teachers' work time should be given to professional study and collaborative work..The National Education Association..recommends that 50 percent of teachers' time be given to professional development.'

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, from 'Critical Issue: Finding Time for Professional Development,' Pathways to School Improvement, 1997

Key Questions and Indicators
Sidebar Topics

What to Expect from This Chapter

Resources and ideas for evaluating professional development programs
Suggestions for tracking training needs
Ideas to improve professional development in schools
What to look for in professional development programs
How to evaluate professional development in general

Key Questions for this Chapter

What technology-related training and/or professional development do staff receive?
What are the goals, methods, incentives, and content of technology-related training and/or professional development for staff?
How are training and/or professional development for staff evaluated?

Overview

Using technology in the school setting requires training (to develop the knowledge and skills to apply the tools) and professional development (to understand and apply the technology in instruction and school management).

Ideally, technological tools should be a seamless part of the school environment, requiring no more prior learning to apply than, say, electricity. Teachers and students would use technological tools-or not-in learning situations, depending on whether they helped one to learn in that context. If research were required, students would conduct it at the school digital library or at a remote resource as needed. School administrative records and cafeteria food requirements would be updated automatically from entry-screening systems, or perhaps the attendance software on a teacher's personal digital assistant (PDA).

But the technological tools available do not fit together this seamlessly yet, and teachers and staff (and students) need training and professional development in order to make the best use of technology in schools. In fact, providing sufficient development and training to give staff skills and confidence in the use of technology is widely viewed as an ongoing challenge to schools. Calls have repeatedly been made to increase funding for professional development; the recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, the 'No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,' Public Law 107-110) has included in its support for technology the requirement that 25 percent of the funds be devoted to training and professional development.

It is for this reason that assessing the status of training and professional development delivery is important: users of this handbook know that it is critical and that not enough may be reaching the persons who need it. Technology use also has to be taught in the context of educational or management activities, which means that measuring the extent of 'pure' technology preparation is very difficult.

In the remainder of this chapter, the term professional development will be used to stand for both training and professional development. Although the handbook authors recognize the differences between these terms, it is awkward to keep referring to both concepts separately when, for purposes of assessment, they are dealt with together.

Defining Professional Development

This guide uses the term professional development to represent learning activities of all kinds for school staff that prepare them to use technology in the school setting. Included under the term are activities such as the following:

familiarization with the operation of equipment and software;
development of proficiency in the use of the technology 'tools' to carry out school tasks;
the application of software and applications to the management of school activities, whether instructional or administrative; and
the integration of technology into teaching, learning, and administrative processes.

Professional development, for the purposes of this chapter, is explicitly understood to extend to administrative and support staff whose jobs have changed and will continue to change due to the infusion of technology in schools. Professional development includes support for teachers and staff as they apply technology to their evolving practices, from lesson plans and curriculum integration to recordkeeping and administrative functions. It is an ongoing process that cannot be satisfied with one-time training in a particular technology.

Indicators for assessing teacher and administrative use of technology and proficiency levels are given in Chapter 7, Technology Integration; indicators for technology support are found in Chapter 5, Maintenance and Support.

Key Questions and Indicators

The three key questions and their indicators below deal with, in order, how much technology-related training is provided to staff, what that training consists of, including its methods and goals, and lastly, if and how such training is evaluated.

In Chapter 7, the assessment of technology proficiency is discussed, and, in that context, a series of standards for teacher preparation in technology literacy are referenced. These standards, and others adopted by states (see, for example, the Virginia standards for technology also cited in Chapter 7), provide a basis for designing professional development opportunities for teachers. Similar benchmarks are available for school administrators (again, see the Technology Standards for School Administrators reference in Chapter 7), although not for administrative support staff.

What technology-related training and/or professional development do staff receive?

This key question and its indicators relate to tracking hours and participation percentages for recordkeeping purposes.

In addition to the above-mentioned standards, there are guidelines available to technology planners and administrators, providing ideas on what professional development for technology use should encompass. Broad categories, such as those in 'Critical Issue: Providing Professional Development for Effective Technology Use,' developed by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), can be helpful in planning what types of courses to include. The NCREL report lists the following desirable elements: a connection to student learning; hands-on technology use; variety in learning experiences; curriculum-specific applications; new roles for teachers; collegial approaches to learning; active participation of teachers; ongoing process; sufficient time; technical assistance and support; administrative support; adequate resources; continuous funding; and built-in evaluation. (See Resources for further detail.) Unfair platformerwatermelon gaming.

The Michigan State Department of Education has also developed standards for professional development with indicators divided into categories of context, process, and content that may prove helpful in assessing technology-related staff training. (See the sidebar topic 'Standards for Professional Development.')

INDICATORS

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