Section 4: Human Performance Technology

Chapter 14 discusses the concept and evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem.

I feel an example of a performance problem on our campus would be the use of SMARTboards.  Several classrooms on our campus have these interactive boards, but they are not being used to their full potential.   There have not been any trainings on how to use them and many teachers feel like they will “break” them if they try and do much on them besides use them to project from the computer.

Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

Performance Support Systems (PSS) provide different levels of access to support information and tools when needed.  PSS goes beyond technology and focuses on providing support when and where the performer needs it.
An example of how PSS could help with the problem would be to offer different levels of trainings.  Begin with teaching the teachers all of the things that a SMARTboard could be used for.  Then instruct them on the basics of using the board and where different things are located on the system.  Teachers need to be taught how to make their own notebook lessons or activities to use.

Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?

One thing that would help greatly with the implementation of SMARTboards across the campuses would be to offer district wide training or meetings on how to effectively use them.  The trainings do not necessarily need to be conducted by the district technology staff, but by staff that have SMARTboards and can offer ideas or sample lessons/activites that are useful in the classroom.

Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

One information learning situation that I participated in was sharing how I used the SMARTboard in my Pre K classroom.  One afternoon Pre K teachers from the district came to my room to see many of the notebook files I had made and used with my students.   I shared how to make files  and explained the different areas of the SMARTboard and informed them of ways to use the SMARTboard effectively in a Pre K classroom.  I feel this informal meeting was very beneficial to the other teachers as SMARTboards were installed in their rooms.