Going Virtual III

Effective Professional Development of K-12 Online Teachers

Kerry Rice, Ed. D. & Lisa Dawley, Ph. D.

Agenda

• Review findings from the Going Virtual! Research Series

• Share pilot studies – program evaluations• Complexities in measuring “effectiveness”.

Going Virtual! Research Series

Going Virtual! Research Series

Phase I: Summary of Findings

• PD is …• Dependent on the organization• Driven by context• Online• Ongoing• Focused on skills

Phase II: Survey Design

1. School and Model Affiliation (Virtual, Supplemental, B & M)

2. Demographics3. Professional Development Opportunities4. Professional Development Needs

• Respondents rated topics of importance (as mapped to synthesized national and regional standards)

• In their own words (536 open-ended responses)

Phase II: Demographics

• Experienced Workforce• 99% - credentialed teachers

• 27% - new to online teaching • 2% - new to the teaching profession

• 55% - between 6 and 15 years of total teaching experience• 18% - more than 16 years total teaching experience

• 55% - master’s degree or better

PD Hours and Opportunities

72% - participated in ongoing training in online teaching

PD Preferences

536 open-ended comments generated 18 themes

1. Time management (71)2. Student responsibility (61)3. Technology Skills (54)4. Communication (54)5. Parental Support (53)6. Isolation (46)7. Workload (42)8. Teacher/student ratio (34)9. Special needs (23)

10. PD issues (22) 11. Administrative support (14) 12. Curriculum issues (12)13. Best practice (12)14. Compensation (11) 15. Accurate assessment (8)16. Credibility (7)17. Copyright/plagiarism (7)18. Organizational skills (5)

What are your unique needs and challenges as a K-12 online teacher?

In their own words...

Self - Reported Needs (sorted by Online Teaching Experience)

Self - Reported Needs (sorted by Program Model)

Professional Development Needs

Online teachers were asked to rate the importance of various topics in these 8 categories.

• Technology• Facilitation• Online Content Development• Digital Etiquette• Assessment• Networking/Community

Building• Leadership• Special Needs

Critical Professional Development Needs

• % of respondents who rated each as very important! (rated 4 on scale of 1-4)

• 74% - Use of communication technologies (Technology)

• 62% - Time management strategies (Facilitation)

• 60% - Risks of academic dishonesty to learners(Digital Etiquette)

• 60% - Student internet safety (Digital Etiquette)

Phase III: Effective Professional Development of K-12 Online Teachers

• Level of alignment between various PD models and the articulated needs and challenges of K-12 online teachers?

• To what extent does PD impact teaching practice and identified skill progression?

• What key themes are emerging in training K-12 online teachers?

• How does what we learn inform policy, practice and research?

Measuring Effectiveness?

What is effectiveness?

Impact of change in teaching practice on student outcomes

Leveraging Data Systems: Workshop Evaluation

Data mining

Self report

Self report

Observation

Leveraging Data Systems: INSPIRE Connections Academy – STS Evaluation

Goal 1: Ongoing Student Progress

Goal 2: Improved ISAT & AYP

• Achieved AYP• Exceeded state ISAT reading average (89.61%

proficient or better vs. 88.15% for the state)

Goal 3: Sustained Parent Satisfaction

Goal 4: Teacher Effectiveness

Goal 5: Expanded Knowledge Base

• Does STS lead to improved student performance and student satisfaction? • Target: 90% student satisfaction with delivery of curriculum• Target: Students “proficient” on ISAT• Target: Students demonstrate improved performance: LEAP

performance metric, % of lessons completed, grades

Where do we go from here?

• How do you measure effectiveness?• How do the pilot evaluations inform the design of

Phase III?• How do we scale up given…

• Context (both the school model and the PD model)

• Can we identify common data sets and leverage them for the purpose of evaluation?

Contact Info

• Going Virtual!• Status of Professional Development for K-12

Online Teachers• http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/going

virtual1.pdf• Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Online

Teachers• http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/going

virtual2.pdf

• krice@boisestate.edu• lisadawley@boisestate.edu