K12 Practitioners’ Experiences Implementing Human Performance Improvement: Processes, Products, and Potentials

This case study using collaborative autoethnographic methods explores the experiences of two K12 practitioners as they implemented, and continue to implement, human performance improvement (HPI) in their professional practice. The connection between HPI and instructional design and technology is well documented, but there is not much empirical work examining how the HPI process is utilized in K12 organizations. Using practitioner reflections and semi-structured interviews, our team identified three themes that categorized practitioners’ experiences: 1. How practitioners conduct HPI, 2. The outcomes of HPI, and 3. Why one should use HPI. Differences between the two practitioners were also discussed. Overall, we concluded that there is a definitive place for HPI in a K12 setting as it can result in meaningful organizational change, save time when diagnosing problems, and empower educators. We conclude with the realization that not all practitioners will be able to adopt this approach within their organizations seamlessly.