Abstract

Technology is widely recognized as a tool students must master to compete in the global marketplace. Today's schools are struggling to deliver technology skills that are essential for today's students. Leaders in technology integration identify the lack of quality professional development as a key factor in the poor integration of technology into the curriculum.

The literature clearly details key characteristics and design elements of professional development. There is relatively little literature describing the effectiveness of various aspects of professional development on student achievement (Fishman, Marx, Best, & Revital, 2003; Guskey, 2000; Jeanpierre, 2005; Schacter, 1999; Shaha, Lewis, O'Donnell, & Brown, 2004). One method of delivering professional development is the train-the-trainer model often employed in education, businesses and the military. Although it is widely used, there is little literature documenting the success of this model in transferring knowledge from the expert, to the trainers to the next group and finally to students.

This program was designed to provide the Warwick elementary teachers and students with the training necessary to learn spreadsheet skills. Moreover, the evaluation results may contribute some insight into how the train-the-trainer model works in practice and how teachers make sense of professional development. This Executive Position Paper (EPP) consists of four chapters. Chapter one describes the situation at Warwick School District, discusses the need and purpose for this work, addresses barriers, and contains a rationale for the selection and modification of the Train-the-Trainer model as the primary vehicle for delivering a professional development program in the domain of spreadsheets.

Chapter two describes the data collection tools and procedures used to collect relevant data. This chapter also describes the participants their roles in this project.

Chapter three provides an in-depth description of the program design including the rationale for including key characteristics identified in prominent literature on professional development. This chapter delineates the program implementation, highlights the delivery of this modified train-the-trainer professional development program and describes the results of the evaluations.

Chapter four discusses the findings of this program, draws conclusions, and offers recommendations for Warwick School District. In addition, this chapter suggests areas for future study.