Development of a professional development program based on the evaluation of the curriculum of the information and communication technologies and software course

Curricula are revised and updated in line with the requirements of the age. Teachers need to improve their professional knowledge and skills in line with the requirements of curricula so that they can be implemented effectively in the field. Developments in information and communication technologies compel changes in the curriculum in the field of informatics education and indicate the need for teachers' professional development. In this regard, evaluation of the updated curriculum and identification of teachers' professional development is of importance in terms of implementing the curriculum effectively. Therefore, this study aims to develop, implement and evaluate a professional development program proposal evaluated based on teachers' views about the Information and Communication Technologies and Software (ICTS) course curriculum (MEB, 2018) that started to be implemented for 5th and 6th graders in the 2018-2019 education year. The study was conducted in three phases. The first phase included the evaluation of the ICTS course curriculum according to teachers' views and identification of the education needs of teachers giving this course for the curriculum. The program evaluation phase was conducted based on Bloom's Program Evaluation Model. A concurrent mixed design was used for this descriptive phase which utilized a screening model. The study included 157 volunteer information and communication technologies teachers who worked in secondary schools in Hatay. Data were collected using the Evaluation Questionnaire for Information and Communication Technologies and Software Curriculum (EQ-ICTSC) that had Likert-type items and open-ended questions between January and Mach 2019. While descriptive statistics were utilized for the analysis of the quantitative data, qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis methods. The second phase of the study, based on the findings obtained in the first phase, developed a professional development program for secondary school ICT teachers. The development phase utilized Oliva's Curriculum Development Model (Oliva, 1997, s. 156; Oliva ve Gordon, 2018, s. 158). Initially, curriculum development teams were formed, and the development procedures were performed in line with the determined procedure-time table. The study formed a 35-hour professional development program proposal for meeting secondary school ICT teachers' professional development needs. The third phase of the study included the implementation of the Professional Development Program developed for Information and Communication Technologies Teachers (PDP-ICT) and the evaluation of its effectiveness. This study, which was planned according to Guskey's (2000) Professional Development Evaluation Model, utilized an interventional mixed-method design. The study included 19 information and communication technologies teachers who worked in secondary schools in Hatay -Antakya. The study utilized a single group pretest-post-test experimental design and was conducted in two phases. The first phase included the implementation of the 10-session PDP-ICT, which was developed as the intervention. This step included qualitative and quantitative data collection before, during, and right after the intervention. Quantitative data were collected using the Placement Test, Self-Evaluation Form for PDP-ICT General Attainments, Implementation Check-List, Performance Evaluation Form, and In-service Education Evaluation Scale-Teacher Form. Qualitative data were collected through the Daily Evaluation of Teachers' Reaction Form and Focus Group Interview Form. The second step of this phase included a follow-up to determine the effectiveness of the PDP-ICT in the field. The follow-up was performed one education year after PDP-ICT was conducted. Data obtained in the follow-up phase were collected using the Semi-structured Interview Form for the follow-up of the effects of PDP-ICT. Analysis of the quantitative data was done using descriptive statistics, and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was utilized for the analysis of the difference scores between pretest and posttest. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis methods. Findings obtained from the needs analysis based on the evaluation of the ICT course curriculum showed that the ICT course curriculum attainments were associated with students' daily life, were appropriate to students' level, helped to teach digital citizenship skills, and were applicable in ICT classrooms. The content of the curriculum was updated and it was constructed in a way to progress from simple to complex. On the other hand, the content of the 5th and 6th grades was found to overlap with each other, which was not approved by the teachers. In the teaching-learning processes, the majority of the schools were found to have inadequate equipment and technical infrastructure. Teachers who do not have adequate equipment were found to experience difficulties in adapting the curriculum to different school types, conditions, and student levels. Although the evaluation approach in the ICT course curriculum was approved by teachers, a valid evaluation in line with the explanations in the program was found to be difficult due to the inadequacies of the current equipment and technical infrastructure. It was found that ICT teachers needed to update their knowledge and skills about operational thinking for data processing given higher priority in the curriculum (mostly updated computer programming instruction approaches, robotic programming, STEM applications). Findings obtained from the implementation of the professional development program that was developed showed that teachers' PDP-ICT learning experiences met their professional needs, indicating teachers' high levels of satisfaction. The analysis of ICT teachers' learning levels indicated an increase in their professional knowledge and skills levels. It was concluded that PDP-ICT general purposes contributed to teachers' self-efficacy perceptions. Institutional support and change were found to be realized at a moderate level, and education was found to lead to changes in the classroom. The analysis of the use of new knowledge and skills showed that the teachers used the ICTS curriculum considering the current conditions and student levels and concluded that they could use the things they learned in PDP-ICT in their classrooms. The use of the ICTS curriculum in different conditions indicated that PDP-ICT was an effective program. It was concluded that teachers had positive contributions to their students' development as a result of implementing the knowledge and skills they learned in PDP-ICT in their classrooms. In conclusion, the PDP-ICT, which was developed for the effective implementation of the ICTS course, was found to meet the requirements that emerged in current conditions, to contribute to teachers' field and pedagogical professional development, and to be applicable.