A study of change: how did a network of instructional design teams influence implementation of an innovation?

Abstract

Data evolving from the research project: (1) established that engaging instructional design teams in staff development fabricates an energetic, resourceful, support network that facilitates diffusion of an innovation; (2) identified characteristics of instructional design teams likely to forge a viable diffusion network; (3) indicated that engaging instructional design teams in staff development creates a microcosm of the classroom that accelerates change; (4) demonstrated that instructional design teams, as organized in this study, foster modifications in instructional practices, learning processes and outcomes of students, and teacher beliefs; and (5) supported the premise that merging the expertise of two generations (i.e., teachers and students) expedites integration of technology into teaching and learning processes.

Four implications flow from the findings of this study. Effective staff development requires (1) nurturing of relationships with potential adopters, (2) customizing the staff development for potential adopters, (3) associating curricular supervisors with families of schools (i.e., elementary, middle, high), and (4) considering a network of instructional design teams as the vehicle for diffusing other innovations.