Human Performance Technology

On our campus this year the administration wants students involved in constructivist activities where they can be creative, interact with others and construct knowledge. The staff have been conducting walk-through evaluations, collect data concerning use of these activities and they report the results at staff meetings about every three weeks.  There have been many improvements since instructors in core curriculum classes went to IPad trainings last summer and were able to bring back five IPads each to use in the classroom. However over half of the walkthroughs still show most instruction is still teacher led with passive activity on the part of the students. Chapter 14 which deals with Human Performance Improvement (HPI), that is to achieve through people increasingly successful accomplishments, directly tied to organizational goals, that are valued by all stakeholders, . . . (p. 135).  Through reading I was able to identify several non-instructional solutions that might help solve this problem. 

courtesy of Flylib.com -  http://flylib.com/books/en/3.398.1.14/1/

The first is Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model which focuses on changing the barriers to employee performance in organizations.  Gilbert understood that workplace performance usually requires both employee and environmental interventions.  From the picture to the right you can see the questions Gilbert felt necessary to modify the situation.

Another evaluation model I felt would be good to consider was created by the International Society for Performance Improvement.  They began in the 60’s with views based on behavioral psychology and Instructional Systems Design.Today they have expanded their views to include productivity and performance in the workplace. This model is shown to below:

courtesy of Advance HR systems - http://goo.gl/sCvkY

And the last evaluation model I thought would be helpful is in the book, Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space in the Organization Chart (Rummler & Brache, 1995) (p.141).  The book gives a detailed account on how to bridge the gaps between organization, processes and jobs.

Chapter 15 introduces us to Performance Support Systems are defined as a system which allows performers with varying levels of access to support information and tools at the moment of need (p.148). In the situation of our school, we would be using an Electronic Performance Support System. This would all teachers access to an electronic environment immediately with individualized online access to a full range of information including software, guidance, and learning assistance whenever they needed it. Instructors would be able to perform their job with a minimum of support and intervention by others. The Electronic Performance Support System would be an excellent idea to help teachers incorporate more constructive learning experiences into lessons and I think it would be a great idea in the problem  at our school. The system might include instruction materials that would include lesson plans, a teachers guide and software to be used in teaching. Links to sites where examples of constructive instruction for classroom use could be added.  Multimedia databases such as EBSCO and Discovery Education could be used for material to create lessons and as reference.  That would be wonderful since I know the textbooks in the Science classroom are at least 8 years old. Instructor schedules could be arranged where one period a day teachers within core subjects could meet and discuss ideas or problems they are having with more active activities in the classroom.  Working collaboratively would help solve many of these problems.  At our school, teachers used to have a team period to discuss ideas such as this, but this has been taken out allowing teachers only one class period a day for planning.  Much of this is taken up with grading, parent conferences or planning lessons.

Chapter 16 gave me a look at Knowledge Management Systems and their importance in solving problems.  They are defined as “the creation, archiving and sharing of valued information,. . .”(Reiser & Dempsey, p.159). In the case of teachers creating more constructivist learning activities in which students interact with students, this would be so helpful.  Many times teachers don’t always listen to or remember what they learned at trainings. Having the tools organized and within easy reach in an instant would be a great asset for teachers. The knowledge needed would be information and links from workshops on techniques and teaching resources using the IPads.  Websites which support curriculum and offer examples of lessons and ideas.  An area would also be nice for teachers to voice concerns or offer advice about other information they found. Also included could be rubrics to help grade projects and databases such as EBSCO and Discovery Education.  These databases would help teachers plan future lessons with current information and teaching suggestions.  All this information could be collected by a curriculum coordinator, organized and placed in a Wiki.  

Far Side by Gary Larsen

Teachers on the campus would have access to this instantly for ideas, past training information in addition to suggestions from others. This would give them time a great chance to collaborate even if they could not all meet together.  They could even join with other schools in the town or surrounding area and share ideas.  Using a wiki would not limit them to a particular space.  They might even group the wikis according to the core subjects, math, science, reading and so on.  A wiki dedicated to each topic. “Learning through knowledge management - in the workplace and in real time - is essential for a smarter, more productive enterprise.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p.167).

The chapter on informal learning, (Chap. 17) led me to reflect on all the opportunities I have missed guiding students when I realized how much of this type learning goes on in the library.  I read through several articles on the internet to help find a definition that I thought was short, sweet and to the point.  I basically came up with informal learning comes from activities and interests in which we participate.  Another definition from Michael Eury’s blog Stickylearning is one I found quite amusing.  He said, “people become so engrossed in what they are doing that they don't see that they are learning - until they have learnt (if this makes sense?)”.  I especially liked the picture with the fish he displayed with this thought, “The benefit of Informal learning is that fish are the last to recognize water”.

Courtesy of Sticklearning -   http://goo.gl/PAkb0

One type of informal learning that could be found in the library is in the magazine section which is just for teens.  Last year my principal came to me and wanted to order more magazines with interests for our student population.  He suggested magazines that dealt with electronics, sports and teen magazines for girls.  Right now we carry Sports Illustrated for Kids, Boys Life, BMX, Wired and J-14, Popstar and Girls Life for girls.  I was able to order four soft bean bag type chairs for students and I have arranged a small seating area near a sunny window where kids love to sit and read when they visit the library.  This is great for students and they do not realize they are strengthening their reading skill which are not just necessary when they are a teen but good reading skills are critical to future success in the workplace. These students may happen upon information about a career they may be interested later in life or just current information in the world. This would give them a chance to have a conversation with their parents or friends about something they learned about. They could also share this information through a social networking site or an Edmodo site if any teacher has this setup to aid in her classroom management.  One way to share this knowledge would be through a school library webpage.  The librarian could find out from students maybe in a survey about what they have read and why did they find it interesting.  I don’t think this information could be codified but it could be managed through a newsletter created by the librarian and made by the website Smore. This newsletter could then be attached as a link to the library webpage. The librarian could update the page each month with new information on what students are learning in the library.  Since the newsletter would be linked to the webpage these informal experiences could be shared with other students, parents even other librarians. Everyone would have access to the types of informal learning experiences in our school.