Professional development for effective use of computers in the classroom

Evaluation and Program Planning, Vol. 11, pp. 315-323, 1988 0149-7189/88 $3.00 + .OO Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright 0 1988 Pergamon Press plc

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

DAVID WOODHOUSE AND ANTHONY J. JONES

La Trobe University

ABSTRACT

Although much use is now made of computers in education, this use is still not a normal fea- ture of all educational activities, but is restricted to the topics covered and methods used by those teachers with adequate computer knowledge. Our aim should be for all teachers to know enough about computers in an educational context to make well-informed decisions on their use. To this end, we propose an approach to inservice education that takes account of(i) stages of reaction to innovation; (ii) competing demands for teachers’ time; (iii) adaptation of available software; (iv) integration of courses and practical experience; and (v) provision of on-going support. We also suggest steps which can be taken by educational administrators to encour- age and assist teachers obtain this knowledge.

1. BACKGROUND

School computer use is increasing. However, compared to the totality of the teaching effort in primary and secondary schools, it is still an exceptional activity, rather than a normal part of the curriculum content or the instructional method. In planning a course and its asso- ciated instructional activities, a teacher is subject to many constraints, some explicit and some implicit. The dearth of computer-based educational activities stems from the large number of constraints which still exist in this area. These can be characterized as:

i. lack of facilities; ii. lack of supporting services;

iii. lack of instructional strategies; and iv. lack of knowledge.

The first three of these constraints will be the subject of other papers, and so here we expand on them only briefly (in section 2), while concentrating on the fourth (in the remaining sections).

2. CONSTRAINTS

(i) Facilities Course revision is time-consuming, so teachers are unlikely to revise courses to include computer use unless they are sure that computers will be available when required in the revised courses. One heavily used computer in the school, shared between all classes, does not provide this assurance. Even if the computer facilities are not as meager as this, there may be serious restrictions on the applications to which they can be put. For example, they may be available only in a spe- cially designated room, precluding integrated class activities; or they may be used exclusively by one

department; or the school may not possess necessary software or hardware support. Furthermore, there may be no funds available to rectify the lack of facilities.

Provision of such funds often depends on the School Council or the Parents’ Association, and hence on those bodies’ attitudes and perceptions of priorities.

Finally, even if there is a willingness to augment existing facilities, appropriate software may not exist.

(ii) Supporting Services Education departments or authorities often provide guidelines on facilities (such as computer hardware and

Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr. D. Woodhouse, Department of Computer Science, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.

315

software) and curricula. In a new area, these may be absent, inadequate, or insufficiently flexible. Although current moves towards school-based curricula have diminished their importance, external curricula still provide valuable information, advice, guidance, and support to teachers. Therefore, if such curricula do not reflect the impact of computers on the subject, teachers lack guidance in appropriate computer usage. If the curricula are also for external assessment, teachers dare not depart from them by including topics they deem important.

Subject associations provide curriculum ideas, resource materials, and professional development activities. However, such associations are largely groupings of teachers of the subject, and hence reflect the views of those teachers. Some will be forward looking and provide encouragement to try new methods, while others will maintain a more traditional approach.

Within any school, the attitude of the principal and the heads of departments is important. External guidelines are moderated by the interpretations made of them by these people, and their approval is required for any significant innovations. if senior personnel feel threatened by developments which they cannot control or do not understand, this can be a significant obstacle to innovation. It also poses a major problem for more junior teachers seeking to introduce new ideas, This effect can even be observed in some business studies

316 D. WOODHOUSE and A.J. JONES

departments of Victorian secondary schools, despite the emphasis placed on the use of computers by the relevant subject association, and the assistance it offers to teachers. We note that the influence wielded by a subject association is not always sufficient to outweigh other negative factors.

(iii) Instructional Strategies Strategies have not been developed for integrating CAL with other instructional activities. Among the writers who have recently commented on this constraint is ~oursund (1986) who considers the problem in relation to developing an in-service training model for assisting teachers to integrate particular types of software into the curriculum. In a review of literature on CAL, For- man (1982) noted that while the effectiveness of CAL on students has been investigated, researchers cannot yet confidently identify the most effective techniques for classroom use of computer-based materials. Prob- lems such as the mix of computer-based to non- computer-based learning, methods of integrating CAL with other learning activities, and the relationship between content and instructional paradigms have yet to be fully investigated and resolved. The present authors have suggested a model for integrating CAL with other instructional activities (Woodhouse & Jones, in press).

3. LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

Some teachers have little knowledge of how computers work, how to operate them, or in what situations they can best be used, and so cannot assess the possibilities of using a computer in their work. Other teachers know more, but still not enough realistically to consider computers in the context of course planning. Others, again, have some conception of how computers might be used in their courses, but are unaware of the appropriate software to use (and are unable to produce any themselves). Finally, some teachers are moving into computer use, but still lack the knowledge (or experience) of how to get the best out of the avaiIable educational courseware (this shades into problem 2(iii) above).

Some implicit constraints on course planning arise from the current state of a teacher’s knowledge or assumptions. It is widely realised that the constant extension of knowledge requires teachers to review the subject matter of their discipline periodically. It is less generally accepted that teachers must keep abreast of instructional methods. One has only to consider the reluctance of tertiary lecturers to move from black- board to OHP, or the length of time it has taken for audio-visual materiai to become accepted as a normal

part of secondary teaching, to realize the truth of this statement. Acceptance of computer-based methods is tagging even more than these, partly because of the rapid development of computer hardware and software, and partly because it is so different from existing instructional methods and techniques that a major learning activity must be undertaken by the teacher.

In addition to the implicit constraints which are imposed by lack of knowledge, further constraints are self-imposed by the making of unwarranted assumptions. These assumptions are often fuzzy and uncertain, and are probabIy due as much to lack of experience as to lack of knowledge. Constraints in this category include unrealistic expectations of the computer’s capabilities and inappropriate conceptions of the potential educational contributions of the computer. These unrealistic expectations can lead to fears of the possibility of replacement by computers, and a consequent reluctance to explore their use. Dealing with ignorance and fear requires, firstly, correct information and, secondly, incentives and assistance to move into new modes of operation. These two aspects are the subjects of the next two sections.

Effective Use of Computers in the Classroom 317

4. IN-SERVICE COURSES FOR COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

In the light of the above, we identify the following specific deficiencies.

i. Lack of consciousness of the possibility of using computers educationally.

ii. Lack of a realistic appreciation of the computer’s capabilities and limitations.

iii. Lack of knowledge of how to use a computer. iv. Lack of awareness of courseware suitable for the

teacher’s particular subject, environment and pre- ferred teaching style.

v. Lack of understanding of how to get the best out of using educational software.

To meet these needs, in-service (and pre-service) courses are required, and this in turn requires a structure upon which to base them. (The term “in-service course” is used broadly to include any professional development after one’s initial training period.) Many computer education in-service courses concentrate on one particular piece of software. The instructors, usually experienced users of the software, design and orga- nize the course in accordance with their own beliefs and experience. Instructors usually have little specific knowledge of the level of ability, attitude or concern of the participants before the course begins. Consequently they plan for what they, the instructors, think is an appropriate level for the participants. This often leads to teachers with very limited educational computing experience attending in-service courses that have been designed for more experienced, or even advanced, users.

The Stages of Concern model has been developed over the past fifteen years as a method of measuring and analyzing the concerns of teachers about educational innovations. The original research by Fuller (1969) concluded that teachers pass through a sequence of concerns stages. Beginning teacher trainees may have concerns that are completely unrelated to teaching. They then progress to being concerned about themselves in relation to teaching, but not yet worrying about subject matter or students. Next teachers become concerned about task or content matters. As they accu- mulate experience, teachers eventually express concerns about the impact of what they are teaching on their students.

The Stages of Concern model was developed by Hall and others building upon Fuller’s work. While Fuller had concentrated on preservice teacher education students, Hall (Hall, George, & Rutherford, 1979) looked at the effect of educational innovations on teachers and administrators in schools. Two additional factors in the Stages of Concern model are the emphasis on assessment of teacher concerns about innovations (such as

the introduction of computers into classrooms), and secondly the assumption that if the content of a training programme is related to the level of concern of the learner then there will be change in both the level of concern and the attitude toward the innovation. Re- search suggests that much in-service activity is not optimally successful and useful because designers are not aware of, and do not consider, the existing developmental stage of the participants’ attitudes, understand- ings and skills in relation to the innovation (Loucks & Hall, 1977).

Published reports on in-service design suggest that there is a general acceptance of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Although not great in number, there are some reported studies of the Stages of Concern model being applied to the in-service computer education of teachers. In some cases the Stages of Con- cern have been used as framework to assist in the design of in-service programs, but without formally assessing the concerns of participants (Bartel, 1985; Wedman & Strathe, 1984). Vogel and Aiken (1985) designed a self-study guide covering several topics in computer literacy. For each topic teachers are directed to an activity or approach which is appropriate to their current Stage of Concern (as measured by two self-test questionnaires). Wedman and Heller (1984) measured the concerns of teachers before an in-service activity but did not report on any changes that occurred as a result of the activity.

Wedman (1986) and Jones (1987) have used the Stages of Concern Questionnaire to measure the concerns of teachers at the beginning and the end of computing in-service courses. Both report a high intensity of the lower level concerns of stages 1 (Awareness), 2 (Information) and 3 (Personal) at the beginning of the course, and at the end an increase in the higher level concerns of stages 5 (Consequence) and 6 (Collabora- tion), but with little change in the lower level concerns. Wedman noted the unexpectedly low level of management concerns in both the pre and post measurements. He thought this might be due to the nature of the in- service itself, which did not involve participants in implementing computing in their classrooms, or because there was not sufficient time during the course for the problems of implementation to become appar- ent to the teachers. In a second study, reported in the same paper, Wedman measured teachers’ concerns in relation to some different aspects of educational computing, in particular word processing, computer assisted instruction, computer managed instruction and interac- tive video. From the results of this study Wedman hypothesizes that teachers see educational computing as a collection of several different innovations rather than

318 D. WOOD~OUSE and A.J. JONES

as a single entity. This perception could hinder the effective integration of computing throughout the school curriculum, as teachers will think of computing as consisting of several small pieces rather than as one whole. This could lead, for example, to world processing being thought to fit only into a particular subject at a certain level, rather than being a genera1 purpose tool for all appropriate levels and subjects. A more detaiIed discussion of the integration of computing into the secondary school curriculum is contained in Woodhouse and Jones (1987).

Applied to the introduction of computers into the curriculum, the stages in Hall’s Stages of Concern tax- onomy of reaction to innovations can be described as:

A wareness -coming into contact with computers and educational software

Information -gathering facts about computers in the classroom

Personal -concern with the impact of computers on self

~a~ffgeme~t -using computers in the classroom Consequence -concern about the effect of com-

puters on students and subject Collaboration -interacting with other teachers using

computers Refocussing -refining classroom use of computers

It is clear that the passage through these stages involves a significant period of time, and this should be taken into account in the planning of in-service courses. The following proposal therefore spreads the course over a long period (more than six months) and so provides teachers with time to investigate and develop ideas in their own school environment. Nonetheless, it minimizes the explicit time commitment required for actual course attendance (about two weeks).

Another problem is that the rate of progression through the stages is different for different people. The hope is that by spreading the phases of the course as indicated, most teachers will have reached the relevant stage(s) by the time the respective phases are reached (even though some teachers may reach the relevant stages much more quickly, and be anxiously awaiting the next phase). A refinement would be to measure the teachers’ Stages of Concern initially and again towards the end of phases 2 and 4 to determine firstly the appropriate approach for phase 1, and secondly (and thirdly) when the individuals are ready for phases 3 and 5 respectively. This requires the availability of multiple courses and types of presentation.

The proposed course emphasizes hands-on experience, and specific attention to the question “How best can I incorporate this piece of software into my teaching?” (Gardner, 1984)

1. a.

b.

Stages: Awareness, information, Introduc- tion to Personal

Topic: How to familiarize oneself with the area

Duration: 4 days Content:

1.

ii. 1.. 111.

iv.

Elementary computer use. Not programming, but sufficient coverage to bring out the realistic benefits of computer use. Use of keyboard, floppy discs, printers. Practice with one genera1 package (prefera- bly word processing or a data base) and one CAL program in the teacher’s subject area. Techniques of software browsing and selec- tion.

V. Identification of names of information sources, such as educational computer con- sultants, professional associations, computer magazines, software suppliers, peers, mentor (see 2(e)).

e. Approach:

2. a.

The aim of this phase is to show that computer use is not difficult, to expose some of the computer’s limitations, to reassure that there will be no computer takeover, and to indicate the existence of bad software (so that teachers can be confident that problems are not necessarily their fault). Stages: Awareness, Information, Personal

(continued) b.

:: e.

Topic: Familiarization practice Duration: 3 months, own time Content: Obtain, inspect, play with software Approach: With the best will in the world, it is difficult to find time for a totally new activity, and therefore some structure should be set up to support the teacher’s learning over this period. One possible structure is a peer network (Cunningham, 1985). Since the people in the 4-day course should be experiencing similar problems and difficulties, they can offer mutual support, including advice or simply a sympathetic ear. This network should be formalized (to ensure contact) but not in such a way as to occupy yet more time.

One way of doing this is for the course to be school-based, so the pa~icipants then meet daily in the common room and corridor. In section 5, we mention other advantages of conducting a course within one school. However, the staff of a single school may be too small a community to support such an activity. In this case, the natu- ral extension would be to involve a cluster of schools within a small area and have a weekly meeting of the relevant staff. This meeting should be quite informal, but its existence will


impose a gentle pressure to develop the incipient computer-related skills. It also provides a forum for an occasional invited speaker or adviser to assist with any problem which is general and intractable. Since any group of schools is likely to contain one or two computer-competent staff, such speakers or advisers need not necessarily be external.

Another structure is a one-to-one mentor sys- tem. Each of the participants in the course is put in contact with a teacher in the same subject area who has used computers in his or her work. The minimum responsibility of the mentor would be to make contact once a week and say “how is it going?” This could most usefully be set up through subject associations. If each association could identify a group of people willing to take on this task, a course participant could be put in contact with a mentor in the same subject association. Each mentor would have a maximum of three “apprentices” at any one time, and each apprenticeship would last for only the three months.

Ferres and Robson (1985) report on a study in which an “expert” outsider interacted with a teacher as a “critical friend,” providing structured feedback and curriculum advice. This increased the probability of an innovation being maintained sufficiently for the teacher to adapt it and integrate it within his or her own reper- toire of teaching strategies.

3. a. Stages: ~~ff~~g~~ent, Consequence b. Topic: Course planning c. Duration: 4 days d. Content:

i. Study the use of two or three courseware packages in detail

ii. Plan a course in which some CAL material is used.

iii. Work through the classroom implications of a piece of CAL software.

iv. Detailed discussion of possible problems relating to interaction with students.

e. Approach: The planning should include not only technical aspects (of hardware, software and other instructional materials), but also course integration; student interactions; learning rates; possible positive and negative effects on students; sex differences; teaching techniques; etc.

Technical considerations include aspects of hardware, software and other instructional materials that might be used in conjunction with computers. Hardware considerations will range from straightforward questions of the power and size of computers, to more subjective matters such as

the relative utility of input devices as different as digitizing tablets, light pens and joy sticks.

Educationa! considerations at the management stage of concern include different teaching techniques to allow for aspects such as various ratios of students to keyboards, different attitudes and expectations between the sexes, the organization of students in order to run hands-on and hands- off groups simultaneously in the same class, and other general computer management problems.

At the consequence stage of concern, teachers need to know more about the positive and negative effects computers might have on learning rates, the way students interact with each other, and the content of the curriculum. At this stage there does not appear to be a body of research that can clearly indicate to teachers exactly how the use of computers in the classroom will affect how the students learn Some studies have been carried out at university or college level, but little has been reported in relation to students in the twelve to sixteen year old group. Such research as has been published, for example Cle- ments (1985), tends to note differences between groups using Logo and control groups in some aspects of thinking, problem solving or cognitive development. However these differences are usually quite narrow in their effect and have only a low level of statistical significance. Considerable anecdotal evidence has been published on positive changes in oral communication between smail groups of students working in a Logo environment, but in general this is still to be substan- tiated by well-planned research.

Teachers are still not trained to be principally resource people, and are often scared if students work ahead. When using CAL, teachers have no choice but to accept the role of a resource person. Students often ask “is it possible to do this?” and teachers do not like admitting that they do not know. Often it is a good learning experience, for both teacher and student, to en- courage the student to make an attempt. The best approach is for the teacher to have done a moderate amount of work in advance and to have read the manual. (Pirated software usually lacks a manual, and its users cannot ask for advice without admitting to illegal activities.) This is not to imply that the teacher will remember all that is in the manual, but they should be able to use it to find an answer. Teachers should not be afraid to use the more advanced students as extra resource people, and direct some questions to them.

Most information sources usually provide a broad overview of available software, rather


than concentrating on one package and dealing with its applications in detail. However, being confident and competent in the use of a microcomputer is no guarantee that software can/will be successfully integrated into the curriculum. Teachers require considerable support in the areas of determining what software might be useful in the classroom and how best to use it. Having attained the basic skills of operating a microcomputer, teachers then need detailed training and practice with specific pieces of software. One example is the program “The News- room” (Springboard, 1983) that has been bought by many primary and secondary schools. The program simulates many of the activities associ- ated with the production of a small newspaper, and appears to be suitable for integration into a number of subject areas. However, “The News- room” is frequently used at a very superficial level, without invoking some of the innovative and powerful features of the program. This phase should provide the opportunity for the study of at least one piece of educational software in depth.

In an ideal situation teachers would only have appropriate software available to them. However the current situation is far from ideal, and teachers often have to use software that is poorly designed and written. This should be recognized and teachers provided with examples of how even this type of software can sometimes be used effectively in the classroom. Many teachers use poor software and never question/complain/ comment because they are unaware of what is wrong. Too often the hardware is blamed for faults in the software.

At this stage, therefore, the teachers are given more detailed instruction to enable them to see how a piece of software might be used- being careful, however, not to lead them to use only this piece of software! It is necessary to empha- size explicitly appropriate teaching methods, whether with computers or otherwise, as teachers do not automatically use effective teaching methods that have been used on them. This has been noted in several reports on in-service training courses where teachers have been introduced to Logo through a discovery type of approach. Martin and Heller (1984) comment that “what many of these teachers did not realize was that they were being taught LOGO in the way it was hoped they would teach it themselves” (p. 75). These teachers were not at a stage where they could relate the theory and philosophy of Papert’s approach to learning through Logo to the meth-

ods they used daily in their classrooms. Hess and Miura (1984) comment that at present there are no well-defined models of classroom use of computers, and this tends to make teachers cautious in their approach. As one or two pieces of software are being studied in depth in this course, the instructor must point out the generally appli- cable techniques and principles which are being invoked.

4. a. Stages: Management, Consequence b. Topic: Implementation c. Duration: 3 months, own time d. Content: Use the planned course. e. Approach:

The previous phase involved the planning and development of a course containing some CAL material and the discussion of problems that might arise when the course is taught. Many of the topics covered in 3e from a theoretical aspect are now experienced in practice, so the discussion under 3e is also relevant here. Having prepared a course, the teacher now needs the practical experiences that can only come from actually try- ing to implement computing in the classroom. It will not be possible for the teacher to obtain support in the classroom from the in-service instructor, and so the teacher must make all the necessary arrangements and decisions personally. At this stage the teacher must make use of the school’s computer resource person and any other colleagues with interest or experience in computing. Similarly it will be up to the teacher to assess the value to the students of what has been done. This phase must involve work with students if the next phase is to be worthwhile.

5. a. Stages: Collaboration, Refocussing b. Topic: Coursework production c. Duration: One week d. Content:

i. Courseware amendment, including the integration of packages into subject areas

ii. Courseware writing iii. Author languages iv. Teacher/programmer collaboration v. Teacher/teacher collaboration.

e. Approach: The six suggested phases, involving alternatively work in the teacher’s school environment and work in a structured course, offer the opportunity for an action/reflection approach to the teacher’s learning experience. This fifth phase begins with a sharing of problems and solutions that have arisen during phase 4. Specific software/courseware problems should lead into a consideration of the extent to which existing


computer-based teaching materials can be amended, or new material produced, by teachers. In discussing the production of new software, it should not be implied that most teachers write their own (because they do not). The principal methods of courseware production should be introduced, and local support systems (such as releasing teachers from the classroom and the establishment of curriculum programmer teams) described. A small segment of courseware should be produced as part of the course so that the time required and difficulty can be assessed.

b.

C.

d.

Teachers are encouraged to consider the integration of computer work into school activities (Woodhouse and Jones, 1987). This requires cross-disciplinary collaboration with other staff in curriculum design and implementation. There should also be creative investigation of new computer applications in the school, involving collaboration between academic, administrative and library staff. Plans, ideas and possibilities dis- cussed in this phase will be more closely exam- ined for possible implementation in the next phase.

6. a. Stages: Collaboration, Refocussing

e.

Topic: Application

Duration: This is a continuing process, and is, indeed, iterative, as one must contin- ually return to the Znformation stage, and gain new information about new developments and their implications for the classroom.

Content: The usual pedagogical activities of action/reflection; course preparation, use and revision; professional development in keeping abreast of the subject area.

Approach: Support must be available throughout this period. In part this will be via a continuation of the peer network, but increasing use should be made of the ‘standard’ consultative facilities available, through the Department of Education, the subject association, and so on. The approach is a spiral one, of course, as method affects content and vice versa.

Similarly, facilities affect both content and method. One’s plans should neither be totally restricted to the existing facilities, nor assume the future availability of unlimited resources.

5. STICKS AND CARROTS

Merely drawing a person’s attention to a lack of knowledge will not necessarily result in that person taking action to rectify that lack. The major counter pressure is a lack of time: learning a new skill takes time, and this time can only be found by foregoing a current activity. If this new skill is work-related, there is a reluctance to forego a leisure activity for it, but it may not be possible to fit it into the current work time. A second significant counter pressure is indignity: mature people, experienced in their jobs, are very reluctant to expose themselves to the indignity of appearing ignorant or stupid about something that relates to that job. This is particularly true if younger, less experienced colleagues possess the new skill. If the desired results are to be obtained, there must be positive factors applied to offset these negative ones.

Some positive factors:

1. School Planning A school-based “development plan” should be drawn up and adopted. This plan would recognize the school’s needs over the next several years, including the computing needs, and form the basis for planned staff training, budgeting for equipment purchase, etc. It also makes obvious the path leading from where the teach-

ers currently are to where they will be expected to eventually be.

2. Release of Teachers from Teaching to Attend Relevant In-Service Courses Possibly conducted by a central education board or authority for individual schooIs or groups of schools. Courses conducted within the teacher’s own school are less threatening due to the presence of familiar colleagues and surroundings. It is useful to discover which of one’s colleagues knows about computers. It is easier and less forbidding to talk about an innovation with colleagues you know are at your level of knowledge and competence. On the other hand, more knowledge- able colleagues can be approached for advice and assistance. As mentioned earlier, this makes mutual support through the subsequent learning period much more convenient, and hence more likely to succeed.

In addition to this basic training, each school needs a few people who have taken a longer (degree or di- ploma) course.

3. Support Staff Appoint a staff member with propaganda and hand- holding duties. If computer use is obligatory (see 7), then consultant assistance should be provided. The


environment should be such as to make the prospect of ject curriculum which includes computer content and change as non-threatening as possible. method.

4. Support Material Some pre-digested teaching material relating to the new topic or method helps the beginner to understand what can be done, and reduces the extra preparation time involved in making a major change.

7. Remove Choice

5. Provision of Suitable Hardware and Software for Teacher Use Here we define ‘teacher use’ to imply use away from the classroom. Examples include some hardware purchase plans along the lines of ‘buy a class set and get one free for the staffroom’, the Department of Indus- try’s assistance to UK schools, and the provision of a grant to enable Victorian schools to purchase hardware suitable for administration rather than teaching.

If the school library replaces its card catalogue by an on-line catalogue, some computer use is forced on teachers. Other examples could include student records, stocklists (data base), accounts (spreadsheet), word processing for office staff. At some schools, teachers are obliged to use the computer room for at least half an hour of class time per week.

8. Salary Incentive Extra pay for having completed a computer-related course.

9. Career Incentive

6. Curriculum An external curriculum design and assessment monitor- ing body (such as VCAB in Victoria) produces a sub-

Many teachers are keen to get out of what they see as the mundane mathematics area and be leaders in a new field.

6. CONCLUSION

A lack of knowledge among teachers about educational stage of the participants should be employed. CBAM, computing is only one reason for the relatively slow and particularly the Stages of Concern, appears to be spread of computing throughout the school curriculum. an appropriate model. However it is a major constraint, and it can be over- Within this structure we have proposed a series of in- come if effective teacher training programs are service courses designed to prepare teachers to make provided. effective use of the power and potential of computers.

We maintain that current computing professional However, we recognize that the provision of in-service development for teachers needs to be re-oriented to courses, no matter how appropriate, is not sufficient in take account of the concerns of the learners. Rather itself. Employers and school administrators need to

than allowing designers to develop in-service courses consider offering a range of incentives, to both encour-

that all run for the same time, and follow a content age and assist every classroom teacher to become con-

sequence that suits the instructor or institution, we fident and competent in the use of computers in an

argue that a model that assesses the developmental educational setting.

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Professional development for effective use of computers in the classroom