Including School Support Staff in Technology Professional Development

• In Event: Roundtable Session 70
  In Roundtable Session: Women at the Margins

Abstract

School support staff members are essential members of the school community. However in Philadelphia and other urban public schools, this group of predominantly African American women is often taken for granted and unrecognized within the school community and ignored by education researchers. In many schools, they are excluded from professional development. In this presentation, I discuss the development and delivery of professional development specifically designed to address technology skills that support staff members identify as important. I report on the learning experience and skills acquired by support staff members who participated in this professional development. I also addresses challenges in delivering this type of customized instruction. Finally I examine the effect that this training has on the larger school community.

Author

• Teri L. Sosa, Saint Joseph's University