Designing a Professional Development Programme for Secondary School Teachers in Instructional Technology Use in Rivers State

Teacher professional development in instructional technology is a prerequisite for meaningful classroom technology integration, and designing a context-specific, sustained programme for Rivers State secondary school teachers addresses a critical infrastructure gap in South South Nigerian educational technology. This study designed a professional development programme for secondary school teachers in instructional technology use across five subject areas (Science, Mathematics, English, Social Studies, and Technical Drawing) in Rivers State, South South Nigeria. A programme design methodology was employed, drawing on a training needs assessment of 100 teachers across 20 schools in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor LGAs, structured interviews with 8 technology integration specialists, and benchmarking against established teacher professional development models for technology integration including the Technology Integration Matrix. The needs assessment confirmed that 74.0 percent of teachers required foundational device operation training, 91.0 percent had never designed a technology-integrated lesson plan, and 63.0 percent cited absence of in-school coaching as the primary gap. The programme designed comprises six modules delivered over two school terms: technology orientation, tool selection and alignment, lesson design with technology, assessment integration, student safety and digital citizenship, and practicum with peer review. Expert review by six curriculum and instructional technology specialists confirmed the programme's coherence and feasibility. The study recommends the programme be adopted by the Rivers State Schools Management Board for delivery through its Staff Development Centre.

Keywords: professional development, instructional technology, secondary school teachers, Rivers State, technology integration programme