Prepared by Shannon & McCall Consulting Ltd.

There is a growing body of research-based knowledge about effective teacher in-service programs that can
be applied to the acquisition of technology skills, knowledge and beliefs (Fullan, 1982; Hall & Hord, 1987;
Joyce & Showers, 1988; Fetro, 1989; Kerr, 1989; Basch, 1984; Levenson-Gingiss & Hamilton, 1989; Strong,
1990).The characteristics of such programs should include:

 
1. Teachers, in-service planners, school principals, guidance counselors, parents, school members and local
science and technology professionals should be involved.

2. A focus on program-related tasks should be maintained.

3. Theory, demonstration, practice, feedback and coaching should be included.

4. Several sessions should be provided with intervals between for follow through.

5. A variety of formal and informal elements such as workshops, teacher interactions, one-to-one assistance
and meetings should be provided.

6. The concerns of teachers (which focus on feelings, attitudes and perceptions) should be primary focus.

7. Program participants should be given recognition.

8. Independent study and self-instruction should be used extensively.

9. In-service programs should be led by resource people in determining the design and content of programs.

10. A variety of instructional techniques should be used including observation of classroom practices, micro-
teaching, video/audio feedback and practice.

11. Coaching should be combined with initial training experiences/workshops particularly when teachers are
mastering strategies or content that is new to them.

12, A thoughtful (reflective) approach should be used that allows teachers to translate theory into practice, to
develop collaborative working teams and to create a supportive environment of adult cooperation, personal
reflection, feedback and on-going dialogue.

Having described the characteristics of effective teacher inservice, we can now examine the different ways of
delivering such programs.

MacKinnon et al (1992) examined the relative effectiveness of two different approaches to inservice (guided
and self-directed) relative to a control group (implementation).

The control group of teachers had received a mandatory implementation style workshop as a requirement to
teacher HIV/sexuality education. A randomly selected group of teachers were guided by a two day workshop
led by an expert who focused on generic skills and beliefs rather than a curriculum. The third group (self-
directed) was asked to develop a personal inservice plan and to use the same resources ($250.00 and two
release days) as they saw fit.

The study found that all three types of inservice offered something of value to teachers. Consequently, the
three different approaches should be part of a long-term professional development plan for teachers.
However, there were also some significant differences in the result of the three groups that should be used to
guide health education inservice.

Both the guided and self-directed teachers made gains in general knowledge about HIV/AIDS but deficiencies
still need to be addressed in regard to knowledge about risky behaviours.

The self-directed teachers made greater gains in attitudes and beliefs about HIV/AIDS. Both treatment groups
improved relative to the control group in this area as well.

All groups gained confidence in teaching about HIV/AIDS with the self-directed group showing gains in their
perceived competence in four areas, while the other teachers gained confidence in two areas.

All groups used teacher presentations, whole class discussions and film video almost exclusively. Peer
teaching, theatre, computers and class presentations were hardly ever used. The control group decreased its
use of problem-solving, role playing, demonstrations, journaling, parent activities and out-of-class activities
from pre-test to post-test.

A similar study (Basen-Enquist et al, 1994) compared a video training approach with a workshop approach to
training teachers in smoking prevention. A lower proportion of video-trained teachers implemented the
curriculum. As well, video trained teachers were less likely to use brainstorming, student presentation and role
plays, all of which were prescribed by the curriculum.

Two other studies (Chen et al, 1990; Cameron, 1991) indicate that the quality as well as the quantity of the
inservice needs to be considered. Chen et al found that a high quality weekend workshop (preceded by needs
assessments, followed by classroom visits and including university course credit) was significantly effective in
changing their confidence levels (perceived competencies) to teach health. Cameron found that an on-going
(three workshops and five meetings in one year) inservice program was marginally more effective than a one-
shot (single one-hour session) workshop. However, a control group that received no inservice (but who were
visited and encouraged by their supervisor) made greater efforts to implement a new curriculum than the one-
shot workshop.

References

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