4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 All of the training models and their materials have had the potential to deliver an appropriate quality of training. The majority of teachers and school librarians who have taken part in the training programme have had a broadly good experience in their training. Where problems have occurred, it has been in the planning and implementation of the training, where:
4.2 The quality of delivery of the training
The role of the tutors
4.2.1 From the early stages of the initiative, where certain models gave distance learning the central role, the training has evolved to the situation where most training is delivered to a greater or lesser extent using tutors and a variable number of face-to-face sessions. This accords with trainees' expressed preference.
4.2.2 The roles of the tutors and their level of involvement vary from model to model.
Differences between primary and secondary sectors
4.2.3 In the primary sector, the commonest approach was for one or two key teachers to train and support all their colleagues. In the secondary sector, most tutors were generic trainers, supporting colleagues from a variety of subject departments. Providers have been exploring a variety of ways in which they might offer secondary trainees more subject-specific training. These range from the use of more focused and specialised materials to the involvement of subject specialists operating on a face-to-face or on-line basis. Providers should continue to focus on this issue in the secondary sector.
Support for the in-school trainer
4.2.4 There was a potential weakness in models where trainers were members of staff of their own school. The isolated nature of their involvement led in some cases to their diverging from the principles of the NOF training and the aims of the provider. To address this issue, tutors should have greater opportunity to network with one another, discuss common concerns and compare good practice. School organisers should also monitor tutor input and discuss practice and progress on a regular basis.
The role of the mentor
4.2.5 Training was at its strongest where a key person or persons in the school encouraged participants on an on-going basis to assess their own progress, monitored overall success of the training and offered differentiated support to individuals. Such "mentor" figures were well placed to assist trainees in assessing their progress as they moved to signing off from the training. They were also able to advise the headteacher or staff development co-ordinator as to trainees' overall progress.
The role of provider or education authority tutors
4.2.6 Where personnel from outside the school were involved as tutors, they needed to adopt strategies to maintain an appropriate level of contact with trainees and support them following face-to-face sessions. For example, tutors could maintain contact with trainees through responding to requests for assistance. However, support was more effective if tutors were more proactive and used regular e-mail or phone contact as a way of maintaining purposeful contact. Some providers were beginning to make better use of the technology to provide a focused network for a homogeneous group of trainees. UK providers were ensuring that all of their UK users could access the same e-conferencing forum.
Professional development for tutors
4.2.7 The most effective training providers placed a high priority on the continuing professional development of their trainers. This was achieved through a highly structured initial block of training, followed by opportunities for trainers to keep up to date and share their practice, either through seminars or on-line support.
Approaches to training for school librarians
4.2.8 All training models for school librarians combined face-to-face delivery by the training providers' tutors with supported self-study modules and extension activities. One provider trained librarian tutors from the education authority to deliver the training to staff.
4.3 The overall quality of the learning experience
The level of trainees' motivation
4.3.1 Most participants involved in the training were positively disposed to the concept of becoming more skilled in the use of ICT as part of their range of professional competencies. The majority were further motivated by their training experience and by their gains in confidence in the use of ICT.
Features of a successful learning experience
4.3.2 The learning experience was most successful when participants:
Professional reflection
4.3.3 For participants to know when, when not and how to use ICT to improve their professional practice, the training should offer them opportunities for professional reflection on the pedagogy of ICT use. These could include: ongoing discussion between trainees and trainer; attention directed to examples of good practice; and focused exercises on broad planning and learning and teaching issues. Some providers have not been fully successful in helping their trainees to achieve this level of insight.
Enabling participants to assess their progress
4.3.4 It is important that the training programme helps participants to assess their progress during and at the end of their training, set against the Expected Outcomes, and decide what future staff development they require in the area of ICT. Good practice in this area included the following.
The portfolio of evidence
4.3.5 Most training providers encouraged participants to keep a portfolio of evidence of knowledge and skills achieved during the programme. Typically, these took the form of assignments and included lesson plans or examples of pupils using ICT in their work, evaluations of websites or software, and teaching materials produced by means of ICT. The portfolio served as an "anchor", enabling trainees to gather evidence of their progress and it also remained with them after the training, acting as a point of reference for active use of skills and future ICT development. Participants generally valued their portfolios and regarded them as important evidence of their progress and achievement in the programme. It is important that school managers and the provider are aware of this portfolio and use it as an integral part of the general process of assuring the quality of final achievement of the outcomes.
Intranets and e-conferencing
4.3.6 Most training providers included in their original bids a reference to developing e-conferencing. The basic aim was to use the technology to create a "global staffroom", where teachers and librarians could communicate with a wide range of others in an electronic environment, have virtual meetings and discuss mutually relevant ideas.
4.3.7 Most providers have established an Intranet environment to enable this kind of communication, but they have not been consistently successful in involving participants fully. Providers are currently developing this concept further in this final stage of the programme, when participants should be more confident in their knowledge and application of ICT. They are currently using a variety of strategies to encourage greater involvement, including:
4.3.8 The most successful of these strategies has been the encouragement of participants to go on line to request specific help. It has proved difficult to encourage and maintain trainee participation in discussion forums, even with the involvement of a facilitator. Nonetheless, providers have undertaken to pursue the development of this on-line environment.
The way ahead for involving teachers in virtual communication
4.3.9 Emerging research in this area of ICT has found that the key to success includes:
4.4 Meeting participants' needs
Basic ICT skills
4.4.1 Providers should make arrangements for every participant to complete a basic skills analysis process. Those presenting themselves for NOF training should have already achieved a basic level of ICT skills. However, the definition of this basic level has not been interpreted consistently and some providers made higher demands of their trainees on entry to their programme. A number of authorities had organised systematic basic skills training for their teachers, in preparation for the NOF programme. In other areas, where trainees required basic skills training, this was normally supplied through the provider or the education authority.
Identification of training needs
4.4.2 Providers also helped trainees to assess their level of ICT knowledge and skills competence, as set against the Expected Outcomes of the training. This was to allow participants to identify their current skills beyond the basic level and prioritise their training needs. Providers used different needs analysis processes to achieve this. Some providers made initial use of CD ROMs produced by the Teacher Training Agency in England. Some teachers had made use of these CD ROMs and had appreciated the exemplification of ICT use.
Differentiation in training
4.4.3 In a number of cases, the needs identification process had not led to an appropriately differentiated programme for all participants. In the worst cases, all trainees followed the same programme, regardless of their individual needs. This had a detrimental effect on motivation levels.
4.4.4 The best programmes achieved appropriate differentiation by:
4.4.5 Training has also been more successful where the provider has planned the training with the headteacher, to ensure an appropriate pacing for the school's staff and a suitable support structure for the range of staff needs.
4.4.6 It has been important for providers to consider the relevance of the ICT training in the secondary sector to the teacher's subject area and to the specific needs of librarians. In many cases, training has had an insufficient focus on this aspect. Providers have tended to deal with these aspects through referring participants to relevant resources, including background textual materials, video clips and audio clips. The support has been most successful where these strategies have been sustained by the input of a curricular expert.
Trainees with more advanced skills
4.4.7 Some teachers, particularly from the secondary areas of business education, computing studies and technical education, have entered the training programme with advanced skills in ICT. Many of these staff expected that the training would enable them to undertake training in advanced software. The aim of the training, however, is explicitly the broad one of assisting teachers in making the most proficient use of ICT in their classroom practice. Nonetheless, some providers have commendably attempted to tailor provision to meet the higher aspirations of these participants.