Professional Staff Development: Lessons Learned from Current Usability Studies
Joette Stefl‐Mabry · 1999
One common element of many plans suggested for the improvement of K12 education in the United States has been the more effective utilization of computer, networking and other technologies. While technology has fundamentally transformed America’s offices, factories, and retail establishments, its impact within the nation’s classrooms has been quite modest. The Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States (March, 1997) recommends “that a large-scale program of rigorous, systematic research on education in general and educational technology in particular will ultimately prove necessary to ensure both the efficacy and costeffectiveness of technology use within our nation’s schools” (March, 1997, p 9). The same principles that have been explored on the corporate level, (such as GOMS, User Acceptance Information Technology Theories and Models, Cognitively Engineered User Principles, and User Involvement) all have elements that can contribute and add to our understanding and help to develop and design successful pre-service and in-service staff development programs. Such programs would enable educators to effectively, reflectively, and seamlessly integrate technology confidently into existing curricula and guide students to develop problem solving and life learning skills necessary for the new emerging economy . A serious commitment to ongoing professional development is a critical component needed to help teachers meet new academic expectations, deepen content knowledge and experiment with new teaching methodologies.