Sustained interactivity as a predictor of the use of a well-developed program innovation

Huberman (1989) identified a concept called sustained interactivity as a powerful predictor of use of innovations. It is defined as multiple exchanges between researchers and potential users of that research at different phases of a study. The sustained interactivity construct implies that linkages between disseminators of knowledge and potential users of it are strengthened as they increase in frequency and intensity. This study applied Huberman's (1990) model of the sustained interactivity construct within the implementation context of an existing, well-developed North American educational program called Project WILD. The model was enriched by the inclusion of other research findings (e.g., Cousins & Leithwood, 1993). A single-group, retrospective design was used to carry out an explanatory study. Data were collected by administering a common survey questionnaire to a purposive sample of classroom teachers (N = 2,000) across North America who are potential users of Project WILD, which resulted in an achieved sample (n = 515) of eligible respondents. A conceptual framework derived from the literature guided the study wherein use was investigated from two perspectives, under varying conditions of sustained interactivity that ranged in levels from high to low to an absence of contact among the users and the disseminators of the innovation. The first perspective was the use of the program innovation. The second was process use, which relates to how users are affected because of their participation in, or proximity to, the innovation. Hierarchical linear regression enabled an examination of the impact on use of (1) sustained interactivity as a global measure, and (2) of nine indicators that were employed in this study to reflect it. Five covariates were used to obtain more precise estimates of sustained interactivity effects. It was found, and concluded, that use varies as a direct function of sustained interactivity. Of its nine indicators, three were found, and concluded, to be especially potent: Benefits of sustained interactivity was found to be a significant predictor of process use and conceptual use of the innovation; social processing about it among teachers and their involvement and engagement in it emerged as important predictors of putting the innovation into practice more fully. Social processing was also found to be a predictor of process use. A version of the teachers' questionnaire was administered to a sample of disseminators (N = 23) of the innovation across North America. (Abstract shortened by UMI.