Participant involvement in planning professional development in technology integration

Education's integration of modern electronic technology in support of learning is in its formative stages. Inservice professional development is requisite to updating teacher knowledge and skills to contend with ever-changing conditions, including the integration of new technologies. Back in 1978, Rubin claimed that the importance of professional development notwithstanding, most teachers had been disappointed by some professional development experience (p. x). The sentiment still prevails today.; This study investigated the ways in which opportunities for different kinds of planning input affected participant perception of quality of experience in professional development courses in technology integration. Included among the questions investigated are: what is the quality of professional development experience described by participants; what are some of the factors that affected the quality of professional development experience described by participants; and in what way did the kind of opportunity for input into planning interact with other factors to affect the perceived quality of participant experience?; The professional development program in technology integration for a medium sized public school district was studied over a three year period of operation. The program offered varying opportunities for teacher participant planning input. One thousand-thirteen course exit evaluation surveys were analyzed to assess participants' perceived quality of experience relative to their opportunity for planning. In addition to closed-ended response analysis, SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys was used in the process of open-ended response analysis across questions.; Study analysis revealed that participant input into planning interacted with other factors to affect participant perceived quality of experience. Indeed, planning input had an inverse relationship to perceived quality of experience while course instructor and course type factors had a significant direct relationship with participant perceived quality.; The study concludes with a discussion of how these factors interact. Specific reference is made to implications for the role of professional development administration, the differences in the perspectives of the professional development administrator and the professional development researcher, and increased understanding through a sequence of focused research.