Research Ideas
Introduction
Jane’s Story
The email pops up in Jane's inbox. Another mandatory professional development is being held after school. Jane sighs. This will be the fourth day this week she's had to stay late. Between paperwork, parent phone calls, and letting kids make up work, Jane feels like she lives at the school. After rereading the email, she sees a line at the bottom saying teachers can take the course online instead of face to face, if they can't meet after school. Jane hovers over the link, but is hesitant. Her past experiences with online learning have been mixed, and she's not sure if it's right for her. But the thought of completing the course on her own schedule is very appealing. Jane takes the plunge and clicks the link. She figures even if the online course isn't very good, it's not like the face-to-face version would probably be any better. At least she won't be stuck at school for more late nights.
Online learning and teaching are infiltrating every aspect of education, and teacher professional development is no exception. Jones and Dexter (2014) assert that teachers typically attend the minimally required professional development that mostly reinforces existing practices. How could moving professional development online overcome present barriers and be more effective, as well? Several factors play into how successful online learning can be for teachers. King (2002) discusses six essential elements for online learning ranging from presentation to learner interaction to functioning technology, and I want to develop a similar framework for online professional development.
The email pops up in Jane's inbox. Another mandatory professional development is being held after school. Jane sighs. This will be the fourth day this week she's had to stay late. Between paperwork, parent phone calls, and letting kids make up work, Jane feels like she lives at the school. After rereading the email, she sees a line at the bottom saying teachers can take the course online instead of face to face, if they can't meet after school. Jane hovers over the link, but is hesitant. Her past experiences with online learning have been mixed, and she's not sure if it's right for her. But the thought of completing the course on her own schedule is very appealing. Jane takes the plunge and clicks the link. She figures even if the online course isn't very good, it's not like the face-to-face version would probably be any better. At least she won't be stuck at school for more late nights.
Online learning and teaching are infiltrating every aspect of education, and teacher professional development is no exception. Jones and Dexter (2014) assert that teachers typically attend the minimally required professional development that mostly reinforces existing practices. How could moving professional development online overcome present barriers and be more effective, as well? Several factors play into how successful online learning can be for teachers. King (2002) discusses six essential elements for online learning ranging from presentation to learner interaction to functioning technology, and I want to develop a similar framework for online professional development.
Research Agenda
I hope to conduct research with teachers in the field on the elements of quality online professional development. I will be working this coming year with Dr. Knapp to create and do research on an online professional development experience that takes the six principles of quality professional development (Scott and Mouza, 2007) and transforms them for an online setting. Building on this experience, for further research my eventual dissertation work, I plan to conduct focus groups, survey work, and ultimately, perhaps, an in-depth case student with a group of teachers experiencing district level online professional development.
Research Questions
Research Questions
- What are the essential elements of online professional development that actually affects practice?
- What motivates online professional development participants to fully participate in and complete an online course?
References
Jones, W. M., & Dexter, S. (2014). How teachers learn: the roles of formal, informal, and independent learning. Educational Technology
Research and Development, 62(3), 367-384.
King, Kathleen P. "Identifying success in online teacher education and professional development." The Internet and Higher
Education 5.3 (2002): 231-246.
Scott, P., & Mouza, C. (2007). The impact of professional development on teacher learning, practice and leadership skills: A study on
the integration of technology in the teaching of writing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 37(3), 229-266.
Research and Development, 62(3), 367-384.
King, Kathleen P. "Identifying success in online teacher education and professional development." The Internet and Higher
Education 5.3 (2002): 231-246.
Scott, P., & Mouza, C. (2007). The impact of professional development on teacher learning, practice and leadership skills: A study on
the integration of technology in the teaching of writing. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 37(3), 229-266.