Title: An electronic performance support system to support teachers in (re-)designing curricula

Authors: Elvira Folmer; Nienke Nieveen; Kim Schildkamp

Addresses: SLO, Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development, Piet Heinstraat 12, 7511 JE, Enschede, The Netherlands. ' SLO, Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development, Piet Heinstraat 12, 7511 JE, Enschede, The Netherlands. ' Department of C&O, Faculty of Behavioral Science, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract: In several countries around the world, the national government stimulates school-based curriculum decision-making. Schools and teachers are offered ample |curricular space|. However, research shows that teachers need professional development in curriculum design and evaluation. In this study, the focus is on the usability of a tool to support teachers in carrying out curriculum evaluations. The research question is: To what degree is the available web-based EPSS which was developed initially for professional curriculum developers, also usable for teachers when planning and performing formative curriculum evaluation activities? This question was answered using a prototyping approach. The results are promising in that they show that the tool can be supportive for teachers in planning and conducting formative curriculum evaluation. However, the usability of the tool in its current form needs to be improved by focussing on specific subject matter, by limiting the use of complex (scientific) information and diminishing the number of (sub-)stages.

Keywords: curriculum design; formative evaluation; electronic performance support systems; EPSSs; curriculum evaluation; evaluation tools; web-based tools; internet; world wide web; re-design; school-based curriculum; decision-making; curricular space; curriculum developers; prototyping approaches; scientific information; complex information; sub-stages; teachers; teaching; professional development; learning technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2011.042648

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2011 Vol.6 No.2, pp.183 - 200

Published online: 20 Oct 2014 *

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