Scaling up a Technology-Based Literacy Innovation: Evolution of the Teacher Professional Development Course

Good teachers are a major predictor of students’ success in school and beyond it. Finding ways to increase the quality of teaching has been a concern for educational systems across various income contexts and, particularly, in the Global South. This paper discusses the iterative design of an online teacher professional development program geared to improving teachers’ English language instruction by means of implementing early literacy software. The program was implemented in various modes (face-to-face, blended and online) with early primary teachers scattered throughout Kenya during the pandemic school closures and after reopening. Relying on the blended learning approach, a potentially effective technology-driven TPD offers multifaceted content, has adaptive and flexible design, and is ongoing until mastery of core concepts is achieved. Further, such solution develops motivational dispositions of teachers about teaching with early literacy software so that its perceived value and the likelihood of success are high, and the benefits outweigh the costs of implementation. The next step of this research is to learn about the specific outcomes of the blended TPD, including changes in literacy instruction and subsequent improvements in student literacy skills.