Designing a remote professional development course to support teacher customization in science

Abstract

This study reports on the design, implementation, and impact of a remote professional development (PD) course for secondary school teachers who were transitioning to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. We designed technology innovations to strengthen the previously successful in-person course. The innovations support teachers to customize an instructional unit by setting and revising goals based on evidence from their students’ prior work on the unit. A Curriculum Visualizer makes the pedagogy of the unit visible and guides planning for customization. Carefully curated small group activities using Zoom breakout rooms ensure that each teacher could share their thoughts, ideas, and impressions with other teachers. Participants were 23 science teachers from 12 different schools in a western U.S. state. We developed rubrics to code customization goals, plans, and moves using bottom-up methods and iterative refinement. Reflections on student work and use of the Curriculum Visualizer enabled teachers to set and refine customization goals and make evidence-based and pedagogy-aligned customization decisions that enhanced the interactive learning opportunities for their students. Our results reinforce the C-b model proposed by Sailer et al. (this issue) by illustrating the value of using technology to support collaborative, interactive PD activities.