THE PEDAGOGY & PRACTICE OF VIRTUAL SCHOOL TEACHING:

MEETING THE NEEDS OF VIRTUAL SCHOOL TEACHERS THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Meredith DiPietro, PhDUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte

PURPOSE & GOAL Purpose:

This presentation aims to expand the existing body of research for virtual schooling by focusing on an underexplored area: professional development

The goal of this presentation is to provide a model and framework to: inform the development of new professional

development programs and evaluating existing professional development

programs for VS teachers.

DISTINCTIONS OF K-12 VIRTUAL SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Understanding Virtual School Pedagogy:

Pedagogic practices: instructional strategies and techniques to support students’ achievement

Technology practices: the selection and integration of web-based or computer based resources to support students’ development of content knowledge

Professional Development: Identifying NeedsDifferentiation and distinctions of pedagogic and technological strategies used by virtual school teachers to meet varying content and curricular goals

METHODS: UNDERSTANDING DISTINCTIONS IN PRACTICEUtilizing a cross case analysis approach to reexamine existing data:

2 sets of Interview Data: Conducted with in-service Virtual School Teachers representing four main content areas: math, science, English, and history/social studies from two virtual schools

2 sets of Survey Data: Administration of the Virtual School Teacher Survey to two virtual schools

UNDERSTANDING VIRTUAL SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: IDENTIFYING NEEDS

Outcomes of Cross Case Analysis: Interview data: A framework to categorize virtual

school teachers content specific use of pedagogic and technology practices to facilitate: students’ knowledge construction, support student

learning, engage students with the content, and make the content accessible(DiPietro, 2008, DiPietro, 2010, DiPietro, Submitted)

Survey Data: Virtual school teachers identified 3 main areas as a professional development need: Technology based skills Content based technology integration Finding and evaluating quality resources for my

online classes

COMMON THEMES Unifying themes: Use of practices to facilitate

students interaction with and understanding of the content in a meaningful way.

Common to All VS Teachers: Strategies for delivering content & Interact with

students (both 1 on 1 and in group setting): Wimba, Instant Messaging, Texting

Utilize the tools of the LMS: Built in assessments, Use strategies to organize content effectively

Facilitate student understanding of the content using technology tools: Wikis, WebQuests, Animoto

DIFFERENTIATING THEMES Unique: English

Blogs, Discussions, collaborative writing tools, practices that facilitate students writing skills

Unique: Math/Science Tools to support students understanding of complex

concepts – teacher created simulations (Scratch), access to environments that could allow students to have concrete experiences with content (Second life example)

Social Studies/History, Geography Visual representations of history (time line creators)

and interactive maps (Google earth), wikis

FUTURE WORK:WHAT CONTENT SPECIFIC SKILLS ARE REQUIRED?

Content Area

Knowledge construction

Support student learning

Engage students with the content

Make the content accessible

English

Social Studies/HistoryMath

Science

FULFILLING CONTENT NEEDS Articulated needs:

Opportunities to observe other VS courses; Opportunities to share experiences implementing

new strategies How to utilize discussion boards to foster

meaningful dialogue about the content building community

Aside from Content Area….Factors for consideration The LMS system The amount of control/autonomy VS teacher has Student’s access to technology (firewalls, equity,

etc)

SUPPORT FROM EXISTING LITERATURECore Characteristics: Drawing from Existing Research General foci: content specific knowledge,

opportunities for active learning, and the development of coherence

Collective participation: Grouping participants that share a common context, supporting the exchange of ideas, development of materials, and formation of understanding(Birman, Desimone, Porter & Garet, 2000; Garet, et al., 2001)

CONCLUSION: INTERPRETING THE VALUE

Benefits of implementing the framework: Evidenced by research literature and

outcomes from the field of virtual schooling and professional development

Optimize the online instructional context and overall quality of educational experience offered to students

The dimensions and distinctions of virtual school teaching presented in the framework can: Inform developing and existing state-level

certification requirements Inform developing virtual school policy

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Meredith DiPietroUniversity of North Carolina CharlotteEmail: mdipietr@uncc.edu