Implementation and Evaluation of a Professional Development

Wishnoebroto Eddy Matovu

April 8, 2017

A. Background
Edward Matovu and I are teamed to build a technology rich class to
support learners with special needs. The reasons behind this subject
are both personal and professional. My son, Dylan was born ADHD and
he did not get support back home in Indonesia. So, my late wife and I
struggled to teach him at home through homeschooling and with the
help of technology such as YouTube and other learning software we can
manage to educate him. Although Edward and I have different
background we have the same passion vision that is to find a way
where technology can help people to educate themselves and to
alleviate their lives. We would like to see technology could close the
education gap between the rural and urban, rich and poor in Africa and
also for learner with disabilities in Indonesia.

From that point, we are designing a Professional Development (PD)

program for special needs student at the Athens High School Ohio. The
focus of the PD covers three sections: the learning space, the learner
and the new technology used in the classroom. These are all
interconnected and influenced each other. Therefore, we conducted an
experimental Professional Development program to find how a learner
with learning disability could engage better when they are introduced
by a new learning technology in a friendly environment.

The learning space is based on the special education classroom at

Athens High School. Edward and I were planning to make the room
more family oriented to get more room for the teachers and learners
to explore and interact (picture 1). The subject of this experiment is the
learner in the special education program who will be asked to do an
activity using the 3D pen.

A 3D pen is the small and portable version of the 3D printer. It enables

user to create a 3D object by simply drawing it with or without a paper.
The pen will create heat to melt a plastic thread, which will dry
instantly once it comes out from the tip of the pen. Users are freely to
design or draw and object and transfer it directly into a 3 dimensional
object they can hold or use. (Picture 2)

B. The Professional Development Program

The goal of this PD is to create a short training for special education

learners to experience creating an object. And the main objective is to
produce an object using the technology. The result of this PD reflects
the creativity and innovation as stated in the standard 6 of the 2016
ISTE standard for students (ISTE , 2016).

The guideline in developing this PD is based on the ADDIE (Analysis,

Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) framework. This
framework is the best for developing a PD because it aims for a
learner-centered rather than teacher - centered and all of the
component of the instruction is governed by the learning outcomes
(McGriff, 2000)

B.1. Analysis
As mentioned by Ylimaki (2014) learning should be engaging and
motivating and one way to do it is by creating a personalized and
motivating learning environment for students (Ylimaki, 2014, p. 45).
And this means that learning has to have an engaging atmosphere,
which is reflected in the place they are learning. Since this PD cannot
be done at the school due to the scheduling conflicts the PD is using a
room at McCracken building Ohio University, which was also user
friendly and comfortable for learning.

As mentioned before prior to the program, Edward and I considered the

3D pen as the most suitable instrument for the special needs learner
because learner could easily create any shapes in 2 D and transform it
into 3 D object. It also requires almost no skill to master as long as the
learner can hold a pen and draw simple shapes.

Since this PD is meant for special needs learner, we thought the best
way to conduct it is through one-on-one basis. It is a one on one
tutorial that requires creativity, imagination and motoric skills.

The instruction is presented in a casual manner by letting learner to

hold the pen while the instructor showed the process. This method
made learning relax, which is very important for learner who cannot
maintain concentration.

B.2 Design
To ensure the learning process reaches the goal, the learning process is
following the step-by step process. After the learner understands how
to hold the pen and navigate it, the supervisor gave a template to
draw. The template is a simple pattern, which the learner supposed to
follow. In this step, learner just follows the line and sees the result of
the object he created. The supervisor then supervised and provided
guidance whenever he needs.

B.3. Development
In this stage, the developer ask learner to advance the learning
objective from following a template into creating another object freely.
Learner is given a blank sheet to try the pen to create different shapes
in different colors.

B.4 Implementation
During the implementation stage, supervisors will ensure that the
activity follows the already mentioned targets and objectives. The
targets are developed based on the standardized goals as mentioned
in the 2016 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) for
students. All procedures, including the method of delivery and the
usage of tools, are supervised and monitored. (Picture 2)

Step Action Rationale 2016 ISTE Standard

for students
One Learner tried the 3D Learner understand 6a. choose the
pen the function and appropriate
able to use it for platforms and tools
their purpose for meeting the
desired objectives
of their creation or
communication
Two Learner creates new Learner can relate 6b. create original
object by using the the knowledge to works or
3D pen create a new responsibly
learning experience repurpose or remix
digital resources
into new creations.
Thre Learner see the Learner can transfer 6c. communicate
e result of the 3D pen the new experience complex ideas
to another skills clearly and
effectively by
creating or using a
variety of digital
objects such as
visualizations,
models or
simulations

C. Evaluation
Since the subject cannot be conducted using the regular assessment,
the evaluation is more on personal observation type of assessment.
The formative assessment was based on observation by question and
answer during the tutorial. And the summative assessment was
conducted by asking the learners about his whole experience using the
3D pen. Although the answer sometimes was out of context , the
supervisor could sense that the user have a positive and exciting
experience using the pen.

D. Feedback
The questions of this experimental study are an open ended question
that focused on the following points:

1. Do you like the pen? What do you think about it?

2. What makes you like it?
3. What do you want to make using the pen?

For the entire question, the learner said that he liked the pen because
its easy to grab and operate. Besides that, he liked how the pen can
create an object. He was thinking of making different object than the
one provided in the template. The only problem the learner said is the
difficulty of changing the color plastic thread. When the thread stuck in
the pen, he asked the supervisor to help him out.

As mentioned previously, although it has positive effect to learner

there are few things need to be considered. First is the safety issue.
The pen requires heat to melt the plastic thread. Similar to soldering
iron, this heat is located at the tip of the pen, which makes it very
dangerous and could hurt other people if it is not use cautiously.
Another concern that may need to be considered is the electric cord
and adaptor, which could potentially create an accident if its not
placed in a safe location.

E. Revision Plan
After conducting the PD, we think that this PD can be improved
through:
Involving more participants
Coaching the instructors about the safety issues
Embedding the 3D pen activity into the curriculum
Creating more templates for the creation
Showcasing learners work to the audience
Recognizing the most innovative design

Appendix
 (picture 1)
Walkthrough: http://www.homestyler.com/floorplan/?assetId=653dc618-
51e0-4a75-9057-b8c72554fd20
 References

Ylimaki, R. M. (2014). The new instructional leadership ISLLC standard two. New York:
Routledge.
McGriff, S. J. (2000, 9). Instructional System Design (ISD): Using the ADDIE Model.
Retrieved from Purdue Universtity Libraries:
https://www.lib.purdue.edu/sites/default/files/directory/butler38/ADDIE.pdf
ISTE . (2016). 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. Retrieved April 6, 2017, from iSTE :
www.iste.org/standards