The Learning Element: A Lesson Planning and Curriculum Documentation Tool for Teachers

The project used an iterative development cycle of research, refinement, and testing. The team first developed a functional beta version, including a formal iterative process to elicit feasibility feedback from a target sample of users on initial versions of the prototypes and an advisory panel, composed of key experts from the teaching profession. Then the team then developed supporting professional development materials and products necessary for implementation. To demonstrate the usability of the product, the feasibility of the product's implementation, and the ability of the product to affect student outcomes, pilot research occurred in six middle school language arts and science classrooms over six weeks with 120 students. The pilot study demonstrated the usability and feasibility of the product, that teachers were able to integrate the product into common practices and revealed that the product supported students in self-assessing their writing.