June 2003 — Features
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Removing Barriers to Professional Development
Professional development in education has been described as an organized effort to change teachers with the expected result of improving their teaching practice and student learning (Angelo 2001; Guskey 1986). Unfortunately, professional development initiatives have been criticized for their failure to produce significant changes in either teaching practice or student learning. Most recently, this criticism has been extended to education technology initiatives.
Some instructors, described in the literature as "early adopters" and "innovators," are quick to incorporate technology into their teaching and are able to use existing support mechanisms to accomplish their goals. Instructor resistance to new educational technologies is most often attributed to the poor implementation of technology initiatives: there is inadequate training, support, and/or planning (Cuban 2001).
However, focusing on implementation neglects another important and pervasive barrier to technology adoption. Successful instructors using technology are described as facilitating a learner-centered class management structure and achieving a qualitatively improved depth and scope of student learning (Cuban 2001; Ertmer 1999). This learner-focused view of teaching directly contradicts the traditional model of the teacher as an authority who transmits knowledge by telling students what they must learn (Cuban 2001). Beyond mastering new teaching strategies and new technologies, many teachers are required to adopt new views of teaching and learning to be successful users of educational technologies.
To explore this issue, the Health and Community Studies Division at Grant MacEwan College in Alberta, Canada, conducted a study to examine the types of professional development activities that met the needs of our instructors who are involved in online course development. This project was made possible with funding support from the Office of Learning Technologies within Human Resources Development Canada. The research results were used to create a model for bridging course development and professional development. The collaborative model is geared toward the hesitant technology user, and allows for individualized support and continuing education opportunities. This model also proposes a framework for instructors to learn actively while they are developing an online course, and to apply new knowledge and skills to immediate course development tasks.
Research Findings
Using a case study approach, 10 interviews were conducted to provide in-depth information about the experiences and opinions of instructors involved in online course development. Participants generally acknowledged that information and professional development opportunities were available to them; however, participants often did not make use of the opportunities. Instructors who participated in our study wanted professional development opportunities that:
