This paper is concerned with the design, implementation and evaluation of a Performance Support System (PSS) to enhance lesson planning skills in first year teacher education students. A PSS is interactive software that is intended to both train and support both the novice and experienced user in the performance of complex tasks. The concept of a PSS allows instructional designers to consider both instruction and performance of a task, within a single environment--whereas much conventional software has been criticised for its failure to acknowledge the cognitive processes involved in the task. This paper will focus on certain instructional design issues in creating PSSs that support the performance of complex tasks, consider a model of evaluation relevant to PSSs, and also report on the evaluation of the Lesson Planning System (LPS), as a PSS. The presentation of the paper will demonstrate the LPS.
