Online Professional Development Course Research Articles

Comparing quality and engagement in face‐to‐face and online teacher professional development

AbstractIn order for teachers to successfully gain new knowledge during professional development (PD), courses must be of high quality and stimulate active involvement from participants. More and more PD courses are taking place online, without clear evidence of whether face‐to‐face and online courses differ in terms of their quality or level of participants' engagement. The present study investigates differences between face‐to‐face and online PD with respect to certain quality characteristics: clarity and structure, cognitive activation, collaboration and practical relevance, as well as participants' behavioural, cognitive and affective engagement. The study is based on 2210 teachers from Germany who participated in 1 of 137 face‐to‐face or 54 online PD courses. Although participants rated face‐to‐face and online courses very positively regarding all quality characteristics and engagement dimensions, they evaluated online courses slightly less favourably compared to face‐to‐face courses. Implications for practice and research are derived to help ensure high‐quality PD offerings in the future. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Face‐to‐face and online PD have the potential to be similarly effective. PD quality and participants' engagement can be assumed to be predictors of PD effectiveness. PD quality contains clarity and structure, cognitive activation, collaboration and practical relevance. Engagement is a three‐dimensional construct composed of behavioural, cognitive and affective components. What this paper adds PD quality was rated very positively for online and face‐to‐face courses. Participants rated the quality of online PD lower compared to face‐to‐face PD. Participants rated their engagement in online PD lower compared to face‐to‐face PD. Implications for practice and/or policy PD format should always be chosen with which a higher benefit can be achieved. Quality assurance should take place before PD is conducted.

Navigating the Online Learning Journey by Self-Regulation: Teachers as Learners

Self-regulated learning (SRL) can be defined as the ability of learners to act independently and actively manage their own learning process. This skill becomes especially important in online environments, which allow learners to decide where and how to study. Most research on SRL has focused on students; few studies have addressed teachers’ SRL as learners, and only a handful has done so in the context of online learning. A better understanding of teachers’ SRL is essential since teachers are expected to support the development of their students’ SRL abilities. This study contributes to bridging this gap by examining how online learning patterns reflect the self-regulated learning of teachers as learners in an online professional development (PD) course on nanotechnology. The study applies a mixed methods approach that combines the qualitative analysis of interviews with teacher learners and a personal summary of their learning process represented in four vignettes as well as quantitative log-file analysis to identify teachers’ learning patterns. The patterns identified are interval learning, on-track learning, skipping difficult parts, concentrated learning toward the end of the course (i.e., “bingeing”), and watching together. These patterns indirectly shed light on teachers’ SRL skills, especially their time management and task strategies, demonstrating that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. The study highlights the need for a holistic approach, provides deeper insights into teachers’ learning experiences, and helps design future online PD courses.

Online Professional Development Course Helps Secondary Educators Increase Their Confidence in Teaching Evolution to Religious Audiences

Students with religious beliefs often find it difficult to accept the theory of evolution. It is important that educators feel comfortable addressing student questions on the compatibility of evolution and religion. We designed an online professional development course that taught the foundational principles of both evolution and religion in order to assist secular and non-secular educators in helping their students overcome religious barriers to evolution. This course increased the confidence of science educators to help students resolve perceived conflict between evolution and religion. Utilizing a reconciliation model will help religious educators drive science acceptance.

Leading online learning during a pandemic and beyond: Challenges and opportunities for school leaders in England

Emerging work around the globe has identified the impact of closing schools and moving education online during the COVID-19 pandemic has had, especially on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Whilst research into this area is growing from both students’ and parents’ perspectives, there remains a need to explore how school leaders strategically dealt with these challenging circumstances and, crucially, what can be learned for the future to ensure some of the opportunities that emerged can be harnessed and developed. This article addresses this knowledge gap by drawing on an UKRI-funded mixed-methods study involving an online survey ( n = 65) and semi-structured interviews ( n = 50) with headteachers in England exploring not only the strategic challenges that school leaders had to overcome but also highlighting the opportunities that have emerged from the crisis that will positively impact on leading online learning in the future. The results from this research have been used to develop a free online professional development course for heads, underpinned by the key findings, which are highlighted at the end of this article.

Integrating Media Literacy Across the Content Areas

AbstractTeachers must first acquire the necessary media literacy skills, strategies, dispositions, and pedagogy to impactfully integrate media literacy into their instruction. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested designing curricular resources as an effective form of media literacy professional learning. This case study examined how high school teachers of different content areas integrate media literacy into their instruction while participating in an online professional development course and how high school teachers applied the content from a media literacy online professional development course to design media literacy instruction. Findings indicated teachers made minor changes to their previous instructional practice, which indicated that participating in the online course led them to think about media literacy integration in new ways. Additionally, teachers applied the online professional development content by using media to build background knowledge, offering explicit media literacy strategy instruction and support, promoting independent practice at the intersection of content curricula and media literacy, and assigning media production to demonstrate content knowledge. Recommendations include equipping teachers with media literacy background knowledge, examining instruction stemming from media literacy professional development, and empowering teachers to design media literacy instruction through critical lenses.

The Impact of an Online Professional Development Course on Teachers’ Comprehension and Self-Efficacy in Developing Students’ Self-Regulated Learning Skills

The ongoing process of digitalisation requires teachers not only to use technologies in their lessons to provide high quality opportunities for learning, but also to learn through this format themselves. In recent years, a new competence-based curriculum has been implemented in Latvia, introducing new content and paying attention to self-regulated learning (SRL) as one of the transversal skills. This requires appropriate teacher professional development (TPD) and the implementation of various digital solutions in teaching and learning, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the benefits of online learning and the importance of SRL skills for ensuring sustainable lifelong learning, an online TPD course was conducted to enhance teachers’ knowledge of SRL and self-efficacy in developing students’ SRL skills. The course was attended by 126 teachers of grades 7–12. The research analyses teachers’ self-evaluation of the impact of the online TPD course on their knowledge and skills in developing students’ SRL skills, and data prove that both teachers’ theoretical understanding and competence in developing students’ SRL skills can be significantly improved through this format of TPD.

“I want to know more about the world”: A case study of international-mindedness as a means of professional development for music teachers in China

The purpose of this study was to understand music teachers’ experiences with an online professional development course focused on international-mindedness (IM). This course introduced the concept of IM by exposing xiaowai (out-of-school) music teachers in China to international music teaching methods. The results, which were based on interviews with the participants, journal entries, and teaching reflections, revealed the advantages and the difficulties these teachers identified when attempting to switch from their traditional teaching methods to a more international style. This research suggests that IM may be essential if xiaowai music teachers are to change their traditional way of teaching. The participants also experienced two types of limitations: some they saw and acknowledged themselves and others that they did not consciously perceive. The findings also suggest that it would be beneficial to explore a more “Chinese” way to implement IM.

Teachers’ Participation in Online Professional Development Course, 21st Century Teaching Skills and Performance: Basis for Training Assessment Plan

This research study determined the extent of Teachers Participation in Online Professional Development Course, 21st century teaching skills and performance. The researcher utilized the descriptive and correlational design. The respondents of the study were 100 regular teachers of different elementary schools regardless of teaching experience. The researcher utilized the complete enumeration sampling. Mean and Pearson r moment correlation was used to analyze the data. The teachers Participation in online professional development course was rated high. The 21st century Skills and teaching performance were rated high. The instructional competence of the teachers online professional development described as High. Self-management obtained was described as high. Teachers joined the learning course in order to address their needs in relation to the technological advances and changing educational trends of the 21st century teaching. Most of the teachers have manifested the different 21st century skills needed to address the 21st century teaching. They have great performance such as enhancement of self-worth, maintaining their set goals and targets, engaging in a continuous learning process and improve the delivery of basic education

Engaging Doctoral-Level Nurses in Genomic and Genetic Education Through an Online Professional Development Course.

Engaging Doctoral-Level Nurses in Genomic and Genetic Education Through an Online Professional Development Course.

What do coaches want to know about identifying, developing, supporting and progressing athletes through a national performance pathway?

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to explore what coaches wanted to learn about identifying, developing, supporting and progressing athletes through a national performance pathway, before commencing a professional development course. A concept mapping (CM) design was used with Australian national sports organisation coaches undertaking an online professional development course. The coaches: (i) brainstormed what they wanted to know; (ii) grouped the brainstormed ideas around perceived similarity of meaning; and (iii) rated the ideas for importance to know and impact on coaching practice on five-point Likert scales. Data were collected and analysed (including multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis) using the Concept Systems groupwisdomTM online platform. Thirty-two coaches brainstormed 42 statements that the research team synthesised and edited to 47 unique statements, with forty coaches sorting and rating these statements. An 8-cluster map best represented the sorted data, with the following clusters: Sport psychology and athlete engagement; Training and competition environments; Athlete wellbeing; Monitoring and modelling; Talent identification; Supporting coaches to work with stakeholders; Transition and significant others; and Benchmarking and performance pathway design. Using a CM system to elicit coaches’ needs prior to their professional development has the potential to empower coaches and target specific domains of required knowledge.

Designing ESL/EFL Teachers’ Online Professional Development Programs in Indiana and Beijing, China: “Crossing the River by Feeling the Rocks in the Riverbed”

The manuscript describes the designs of two teachers’ online professional development (PD) projects to support teachers of English-as-Second/Foreign Language in Indiana and in Beijing, China. We provide descriptions of each of the contexts; judgments and decisions we made along the way; the contextual/cultural and pedagogical factors we took into consideration; and finally, the design countenance of the projects that emerged from our efforts. In designing the projects, we took a sociocultural “post-method orientation” in that contextual/cultural factors determined the projects’ pathways of practice. Thus, they were context-sensitive and based on local understandings; they involved the collaboration of an interdisciplinary group of individuals knowledgeable in the discipline and the medium of instruction. Nevertheless, as designers, we kept a steady focus on our own perspectives of teaching and learning inclusiveness through Culturally Responsive Teaching, differentiated and scaffolded instruction, and the need to enact online presences in online PD courses. The manuscript describes how we approached the enactment of these perspectives differently in each PD’s design.

Teachers’ Perceived Impact of an Online Professional Development Course on Content and Language Integration and Pedagogical Translanguaging

Research has already shown that designing instruction that simultaneously develops students’ content and language competences is fundamental especially, but not only, when students are educated in a second, foreign or additional language. Unfortunately, content teachers working in different types of bilingual education programmes hold varying beliefs about the role of language for and in learning and often struggle to successfully integrate language and content objectives. This is particularly the case of content teachers working in the Italian network of educational institutions in the world who struggle to support students to learn content through Italian as the language of instruction, but also tend to fail to recognize the importance of validating their linguistic and cultural background. In this context, the dearth of training is accompanied by a dearth of research on the effects of professional development courses.This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting on the effectiveness of a short online teacher professional development (OTPD) course aimed at supporting both primary and secondary subject teachers working in Italian international schools abroad to integrate content and language learning from a plurilingual and pluricultural perspective. Specifically, it explores teachers’ perceptions in relation to the design and implementation features of the course and to its effects on their beliefs, teaching practice, and professional identity.

Designing a Media Literacy Training Programme for Public Library Staff in Ireland: Preliminary Results and Observations of a University-Public Library Collaboration

ABSTRACT While research on media literacy education has focused on varying professional sectors, the role of public libraries in supporting media literacy has yet to be fully explored. This article reports on a university-public library collaboration between University College Dublin, the Libraries Development unit of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), Meath County Council Libraries and Meta (formerly Facebook). This collaborative partnership sought to develop and pilot a cutting-edge curriculum, incorporating a creative and flexible approach to media literacy training for public library staff. This article details the partnership between the university and the stakeholders toward the common goals of assessing the media literacy training needs of public library staff, and piloting an online professional development course to address these needs. The paper makes several observations on the university-public library collaboration, and proposes that such strategic partnerships might be a key intervention in delivering media literacy education training to the public library sector more broadly.

Teaching home-visitors to support responsive caregiving: A cluster randomized controlled trial of an online professional development program in Brazil.

BackgroundHome-visiting programs are a common and effective public health approach to promoting parent and child well-being, including in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization and UNICEF have identified responsive caregiving as one key component of the nurturing care children need to survive and thrive. Nonetheless, the importance of responsive caregiving and how to coach it is often overlooked in trainings for staff in home-visiting programs.MethodsTo determine whether it is possible to enhance home-visitors’ understanding of responsive caregiving and how to coach it, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial with 181 staff working in Brazil’s national home-visiting program. We used a computerized random number generator to randomly assign half of participants to take an online professional development course about responsive caregiving immediately and the other half to a waitlist. Individuals assessing outcome data were blind to group assignment.ResultsCompared to those in the control group (N = 90, both randomized and analyzed), participants assigned to take the course (N = 91, both randomized and analyzed) were more knowledgeable about responsivity (Cohen’s d = 0.64, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.34, 0.94) and its importance for children’s socioemotional (odds ratio (OR) = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.00, 3.50) and cognitive (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.15, 5.71) development, better able to identify responsive parental behaviors in videotaped interactions (d = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.51, 2.21), and suggested more effective strategies for coaching parents on responsivity (d = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.80) and tracking goal implementation (OR = 3.20, 95% CI = 1.28, 7.99). There were no significant changes in participants’ tendency to encourage goal setting and reflection, or their perspective-taking skills. Participants were very satisfied with the course content and mode of delivery and there was no drop-out from the program.ConclusionsA short, online professional development program created moderate to large improvements in home-visitors’ knowledge and intended coaching practices. This suggests that such programs are feasible, even in low-income and rural areas, and provide a low-cost, scalable option for possibly maximizing the impact of home-visiting programs – particularly with regard to parental responsivity, and in turn, child outcomes.

Educators as creators: lessons from a mechanical MOOC on educational dialogue for local facilitators

ABSTRACT This paper explores possible affordances of technology and online professional learning to develop and support communities of practice in which educational practitioners develop, share and build on one another’s reflections and learning. Evidence is presented from a design-based research study that iteratively designed and developed a mechanical MOOC on educational dialogue for local facilitators. Local facilitators are practitioners who take on a leadership role whereby they coordinate and support peers in their setting in developing their dialogic practices. The research employs mixed methods for collection and analysis of data from course participants, exploring the successes and challenges of online professional development courses within 10 thematic areas. Design principles are offered for each of these 10 themes for scalable and sustainable online professional learning programmes that promote practitioner reflection, agency and empowerment, and view educators as valuable creators and contributors to professional learning resources and environments.

CALL Teacher Training—Considerations for Low-Resource Environments

The pandemic in 2020 has profoundly impacted millions of people all around the world. We have experienced intense disruption in our daily lives. We have lost loved ones, jobs, motivation, and precious time that could have been used more productively. The pandemic did not distinguish between borders, race, or gender. It affected everyone but not equally, unveiling socioeconomic differences within and across countries in access to robust health care, tolerable working environments, and other basic needs. Inevitably, the pandemic has also disrupted the normal course of the way we teach and learn, especially in English for Foreign Languages (EFL) contexts. Administrators and teachers needed to suddenly reconfigure their in-person classes for online teaching while students had to adjust to this new way of language learning. As Godwin-Jones (2020) envisaged, this widespread switch to distance learning seems likely to be the new normal rather than a one-time occurrence. Considering Hubbard and Levy’s (2006) concern that “both language teachers in training and practicing teachers will find themselves at a disadvantage if they are not adequately proficient in computer-assisted language learning,” it is now even more crucial for language teachers to develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of technology use in language teaching. As Oskoz and Smith (2020) pointed out, this new era in language teaching and learning provides a unique opportunity to investigate the affordances of technology and harmonize these affordances with learner, teacher, and curricular objectives. Thus, taking a fresh look at teacher training for computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in order to see how these affordances can be better implemented, especially in low-resource contexts, seems like a perfect place to start. In this article, we first discuss some critical issues in CALL teacher education. Then we introduce an online CALL teacher education (CTE) course by explaining how these issues have been implemented in designing the course. We conclude by providing practical guidelines on how to design online professional development courses in the language teaching field.

Getting KnERDI with Language: Examining Teachers’ Knowledge for Enhancing Reading Development in Code‐Based and Meaning‐Based Domains

AbstractMuch of the early research on teachers’ knowledge for reading instruction used instruments that primarily emphasized code‐based aspects of reading, unintentionally signaling that meaning‐focused knowledge is not essential for teaching foundational reading to elementary‐age children. In this study, we developed the Knowledge for Enhancing Reading Development Inventory (KnERDI; pronounced 'nerdy'), an instrument that measures teachers’ knowledge in two domains: alphabetic code/word reading and meaning/connected text processes. Using this instrument, we sought to determine if teachers’ knowledge of the two proposed domains was highly associated and if knowledge was related to level of education and amount of teaching experience. We report on the reliability and validity of the KnERDI and describe patterns in educators’ performance on this instrument. We found that the KnERDI measured both domains with acceptable reliability in multiple samples of educators enrolled in an online professional development course. Educators scored higher on the meaning/connected text process subscale than on the alphabetic code/word reading subscale. The two subscales were strongly correlated, indicating that teachers’ knowledge as measured on the KnERDI is a unidimensional construct. Advanced degree completion was not consistently related to educators’ scores on the KnERDI, but there was a positive association between educators’ performance on the instrument and their years of experience teaching early reading, particularly with respect to the code‐based domain. We discuss potential uses of the KnERDI in future research and practice, positive trends in educators’ performance on the instrument, and challenges in measuring educators’ knowledge for supporting higher‐level language and comprehension processes.

Discursive Change in Second Language Teachers’ Online Interactions: A Microgenetic Analysis

Although studying teachers’ online interactions has gained momentum in recent years, little is known about interactional development in online communities. The present study addressed this gap by exploring discursive change in second language teachers’ interactions in an online professional development (PD) course structured around mobile phone usage. To this aim, the microgenetic analysis approach of sociocultural theory was adopted to track developments in teachers’ interactions based on Goodall’s (2000) skilled conversation threads. Data analysis revealed 152 skilled conversation exchanges in the online PD. Three themes were dominant among these exchanges and constituted most of the interactions: (1) Direct and indirect uses of mobile phones, (2) challenges and benefits of using mobile phones, and (3) teaching different language skills using mobile phones. Detailed analysis of the exchanges revealed that the teachers gradually changed in their perceptions about using mobile phones as well as the discourse they employed to represent their understandings. The findings are discussed in relation to teacher educators’ role in facilitating online PD and the importance of developing a knowledge base that accounts for teachers’ online membership.

Challenges and barriers to Austrian early childhood educators' participation in online professional development programmes

AbstractOnline professional development programmes have a long tradition in adult education. However, in early childhood education, such programmes are only just beginning to be developed. Before online professional development courses can be made inclusive, accessible and widely available to early childhood educators, they must meet a few basic requirements. The present study provides insights into essential aspects that need to be considered when setting up online professional development programmes, a field which is still in its infancy in Austria. The results of a representative survey (n = 317) demonstrated that early childhood educators' digital competencies are highly variable and cannot be taken for granted. The survey results also stress the need to provide educators with functional digital devices appropriate to their work environment. Early childhood educators' interest in online professional development programmes is very high, in recognition of the advantages afforded by flexible participation options independent of users' time constraints or location. The development of attractive, compelling and accessible online professional development courses can contribute to current professionalisation efforts in the field of early childhood education. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Online professional development has already a very long tradition in the field of adult vocational training but not in Early Childhood Education. The possibility of attending online professional development programmes independent of a participant's time constraints or location is viewed as a particularly beneficial advantage. Online professional development programmes positively affect the professionalisation of educators. For this reason, they must increasingly be integrated into the field of early childhood education. What this paper adds In the field of early childhood education in German‐speaking regions, online professional development training courses are only beginning to be developed. This paper examines the challenges and barriers for early childhood educators associated with implementing online professional development programmes for early childhood educators. The survey was conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic and includes current data on the ongoing digitalisation boom. Implications for practise and/or policy Online professional development courses should not be understood as competition for conventional face‐to‐face programmes. Instead, they act as a useful supplement. Media competencies are a fundamental prerequisite for everyday professional life—early childhood educators need functional media devices, stable internet connections, and support structures in IT and computer literacy. Early childhood educators require effective instruction in using online professional development programmes to expand online professional development programmes in their field. They must also address compelling topics in early childhood education relevant to educators' practise.

Teachers’ Expectations and Perceptions of the Relevance of Professional Development MOOCs

Online professional-development courses such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) could bring relevant content to a wider base of teachers who might not otherwise have access to professional development. However, research on the relevance of such online courses is scarce. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relevance (individual, societal, and vocational) of MOOCs (mostly participatory cMOOCs) from the viewpoint of teachers now and in the future. We examined teachers’ expectations and perceptions of 10 courses before (N = 364) and after (N = 177) the courses, using an online questionnaire developed on the basis of relevance theory. According to the results, the studied teachers had positive expectations for the courses in terms of their usefulness for their prospective teaching (especially vocational relevance). Teachers’ expectations related to the usefulness of the course for the future (individual and vocational relevance) were most strongly met. Effort put into the course was connected to, for example, how the course improved the teachers’ interest. The results of this study indicate that MOOCs can serve as relevant courses for teachers’ professional development in science, mathematics, and technology education.