Beauty Amidst the Bytes_ Unearthing Unexpected Advantages of the Digital Wast...
Julia Parra Research for VSS 2009
1. A Multiple Case Study on The Impact of Teacher Professional Development for Online Teaching on Face-to-Face Classroom Teaching Practices Julia Lynn Parra For Virtual School Symposium 2009 November 17, 2009
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11. Question added from Interview What are the technologies that you have adopted/transferred from OTLO professional development to your face-to-face teaching practices and face-to-face classrooms? In the essay boxes please provide any specific uses, strategies, and best practices that accompany your technology use.
16. Research Sub-Question 2 Research Sub-Question 2: What were the strategies and related technologies that these teachers adopted from OTLO professional development for online teaching to improve their face-to-face teaching practices and face-to-face classrooms ?
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18. Research Sub-Question 3: How did changes in classroom-based teaching practices occur? What was the process, (the journey) in changing their face-to-face practice? What occurred during professional development for online teaching and learning to change face-to-face teaching practices? Research Sub-Question 3
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20. How did professional development for online teaching and learning, provided by the Online Teaching and Learning Opportunities (OTLO) program, impact teachers and their face-to-face teaching practices? Overarching Question
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22. Implications for Teacher Education and Teacher Professional Development Programs Professional development for online teaching and learning needs to be incorporated into the programs that teach our new teachers and the programs that support our existing teachers.
23. In the words of one of the Case Study Participants: “ I think that maybe in their teacher training now, the ones who are going … I really think that they need to have some experience, either, they have to have so many online courses in order to graduate, they have to – it has to be part of their teacher training to address these new ways. And I’m not sure all universities are doing that.”
25. “ The question of the relative efficacy of online and face-to-face instruction needs to be revisited, however, in light of today’s online learning applications, which can take advantage of a wide range of Web resources, including not only multimedia but also Web-based applications and new collaboration technologies. These forms of online learning are a far cry from the televised broadcasts and videoconferencing that characterized earlier generations of distance education. Moreover, interest in hybrid approaches that blend in-class and online activities is increasing. Policy-makers and practitioners want to know about the effectiveness of Internet-based, interactive online learning approaches and need information about the conditions under which online learning is effective.”
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31. In Conclusion If teachers are to be expected to change how they teach today’s students, then the expectations for those who teach teachers and provide professional development for teachers needs to change as well. If teachers are expected to teach using 21 st Century tools like computers, handheld devices, web-based technologies, etc., then they must be provided with access and exposure to these tools. If teachers are expected to teach using innovative 21 st Century teaching theories, strategies, and techniques such building learning communities, using a learner-centered approach, modeling appropriate uses of technology, etc., then again, they must be provided with the learning opportunities that build learning communities, use a learner-centered approach, and model appropriate uses of technology.
Teacher survey was edited to include questions per committee suggestion to decrease interview time External researchers were utilized per committee recommendation Teacher observations were deemed unnecessary per committee feedback
External researchers were utilized per committee recommendation Teacher observations were deemed unnecessary per committee feedback
A teacher survey was originally designed for purposive sampling in order to identify case study participants. However, it additionally provided a starting point for identifying the changes in face-to-face teaching practices, and it supported the development of the six case studies.
Additionally, the respondents were provided space to describe any specific uses, strategies, and best practices that accompanying their use of the tools chosen or identified. ｷ Two teachers noted the creation and use of webpages for class content. ｷ There were three mentions of the use of blogs for current events; for student reflection and response; and in “Journalism courses as a means of facilitating news content among my students and among schools in the district.” ｷ There were five mentions of the use of wikis for collaboration activities, a classroom “wall” activity, a vocabulary activity, and an introduction icebreaker activity. ｷ There were five mentions about the use of Moodle for blended instruction and for students who were absent or suspended. ｷ There were six mentions of the use of iMovie or Moviemaker for a variety of activities such as History Day projects, dinosaur for sale ads, and movie timelines for history. ｷ There were five mentions about the use of the multimedia creation tool, Animoto for activities including History Day projects, art projects, and a rules of the playground project. ｷ There were eight mentions about the use of audio and podcast creation tools including Garage Band and Audacity. Uses included spelling reviews on iPods; the narration of facts on a second grade's class field trip of caves, group created podcasts; differentiated instruction for special needs students; lectures; and student presentations. ｷ There were three mentions of the use of screencast software such as Screencast-o-matic for lectures and creating assignments for students on substitute days. ｷ There were three mentions about the use of the animated avatar tool, Animoto, for a webpage greeting, speeches, and fostering success with a technology-challenged student. ｷ The Internet received the most mentions with 11 mentions including use for enrichment and research, webquests, virtual field trips, YouTube, rss feeds, and art prompts. ｷ Other tools mentioned once each include the Interwrite Pad for beginning ESL, SurveyMonkey for a student preassessment, online exam software, Wordle for lesson presentation, Adobe® Dreamweaver® for creating art, online calendars for posting course content. ｷ One teacher talked about having a better understanding of the copyright and networking etiquette rules and was able to convey these rules to students. ｷ One teacher talked about teaching each tool to her student because the students only “knew how to either check email and/or search for small things such as music.” This teacher also noted the creation of her online or blended course that will have “one of each: research, links, a blog, a wiki, content & discussion, a voki, and chat content. I am still working on including animoto and am looking at social bookmarking (that’s really new to me).”
In this case, only one question was edited and the pilot case study was kept as a part of the formative inquiry process including the comparative analysis. The sixth case study participant said, no, face-to-face teaching practices had not changed due to OTLO professional development for online teaching and learning. However, during his interview, this participant changed his answer to yes, his face-to-face teaching practices had changed due to OTLO professional development for online teaching and learning
Teachers experienced changes in the uses of technology and technology-based instruction in face-to-face teaching practices. These changes were further delineated by the categories of designing instruction and technology and pedagogy. Changes in designing instruction were noted across sub-categories including - the use of technology tools; lesson planning including student activities and homework; standards and benchmarks; lesson presentation; and grading and assessment. Changes related to technology and pedagogy that were explicitly discussed by teachers included differentiated instruction and student-centered instruction
This question was specifically addressed in the teacher survey. Teachers were specifically asked, “What are the technologies that you have adopted/transferred from OTLO professional development to your face-to-face teaching practices and face-to-face classrooms? A list of online technologies that were modeled and utilized as part of OTLO professional development was provided to the OTLO teacher survey respondents. Based on the findings of this study all of the teacher respondents experienced the adoption or transfer of new technologies such as audio/video tools, Moodle, wikis, blogs, avatars, and social bookmarking in their face-to-face classroom. Additionally, the respondents were provided space to describe any specific uses, strategies, and best practices that accompanying their use of the tools chosen or identified. As a result of this study, a variety of specific uses, strategies, and best practices were identified.
Each teacher that participated in the case studies experienced a unique journey. However, in all six case studies, all six teachers identified changes as a result of OTLO Professional Development. These changes included changes in thinking and attitude; personal uses of technology; professional uses of technology; and uses of technology and technology-based instruction in face-to-face teaching practices. During the interview, several questions were asked in order to identify “how” OTLO professional development helped teachers change their teaching practices. In answering these questions, teachers identified online workshops and webinars; community; the online course development process; and characteristics of the program and program developers.
Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies
Pedagogy, Andragogy, and Heutagogy The educational theories of pedagogy, andragogy and heutogogy were thoroughly reviewed because online teaching and learning is simply teaching and learning that utilizes formats and media other than or in addition to the traditional face-to-face classroom. Thus, teachers and professional developers who engage in online teaching and learning activities should be versed in educational theory. As noted by Palloff and Pratt (2003), high quality online teaching and learning “involves all three theoretical constructs” (p. xv) of pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Objectivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism The theories or approaches of behaviorism, cognitivism, objectivism, constructivism, and connectivism were reviewed for the same reason as noted for the educational theories of pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy. Teachers and professional developers who engage in online teaching and learning activities should be versed in existing and developing educational theories and approaches. Of importance in relation to these theories and approaches is “the impact of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning” (Siemens, 2005). For example, connectivism is a new theory being discussed to answer questions being raised due to the juxtaposition of learning theory and technology. Some argue that there is no room for new learning theories, that the existing theories are adequate. Others argue that logically, new theories will arise because the changes in technology are so dramatic. The researcher in this study would say that engaging in the conversation and the debate is the most important outcome. Technology Professional Development and Teacher Change Literature about technology professional development and teacher change was reviewed because an important component in this research study is teacher change as a result of one type of technology professional development. In this case the technology professional development is for online teaching and learning. From this part of the literature review, the researcher utilized a teacher technology assessment rubric (see Appendix A and Appendix B) as part of the Teacher Survey. The Teacher Survey is one of three data collection strategies utilized in this study (see Appendix S). Overview of K-12 Online Teaching and Learning This literature review included an overview of online teaching and learning including its historical context within the field of distance education and then with a focus on the current status of K12 online teaching and learning. This section also included a discussion about and the definitions of key online teaching and learning terms. This section was included because online teaching and learning has a unique position in the history of education and a unique set of vocabulary terms. Online Teaching and Learning As the field of online teaching and learning becomes more prevalent as its own field, new sets of standards, new models, and new focus areas of study are being developed to address the unique needs of online teaching and learning. This literature review included a section on the growing field of online teaching and learning as it is both unique in the field of education and a component of this research study. Teacher Professional Development for Online Teaching and Learning This literature review included a section on the current research and resources related to teacher profession development for online teaching and learning, as this is specific to the research of this study. This section included standards and research for online professional development and for professional development for online teaching and learning along with resources for current educational technology standards. The Impact of Professional Development for Online Teaching on Teachers’ Face-to-Face Classroom Practices Finally, research about the impact of professional development for online teaching and learning on teachers’ face-to-face classroom practices was reviewed. It was this final area that the educational research community had noted research is needed (Carnevale, 2007; Davis et al., 2007; Kearsley & Blomeyer, 2004; Lowes, 2007). Only one researcher, Dr. Susan Lowes, had started to research the impact of teacher professional development for online teaching and learning on face-to-face teaching practices. Her research “suggests that professional development for online teaching may also have an effect on classroom teaching” (Lowes, 2007, p. 38). This study builds on Dr. Lowe’s suggestion and contributed to the research community in this area.
Pedagogy, Andragogy, and Heutagogy The educational theories of pedagogy, andragogy and heutogogy were thoroughly reviewed because online teaching and learning is simply teaching and learning that utilizes formats and media other than or in addition to the traditional face-to-face classroom. Thus, teachers and professional developers who engage in online teaching and learning activities should be versed in educational theory. As noted by Palloff and Pratt (2003), high quality online teaching and learning “involves all three theoretical constructs” (p. xv) of pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Objectivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism The theories or approaches of behaviorism, cognitivism, objectivism, constructivism, and connectivism were reviewed for the same reason as noted for the educational theories of pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy. Teachers and professional developers who engage in online teaching and learning activities should be versed in existing and developing educational theories and approaches. Of importance in relation to these theories and approaches is “the impact of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning” (Siemens, 2005). For example, connectivism is a new theory being discussed to answer questions being raised due to the juxtaposition of learning theory and technology. Some argue that there is no room for new learning theories, that the existing theories are adequate. Others argue that logically, new theories will arise because the changes in technology are so dramatic. The researcher in this study would say that engaging in the conversation and the debate is the most important outcome. Technology Professional Development and Teacher Change Literature about technology professional development and teacher change was reviewed because an important component in this research study is teacher change as a result of one type of technology professional development. In this case the technology professional development is for online teaching and learning. From this part of the literature review, the researcher utilized a teacher technology assessment rubric (see Appendix A and Appendix B) as part of the Teacher Survey. The Teacher Survey is one of three data collection strategies utilized in this study (see Appendix S). Overview of K-12 Online Teaching and Learning This literature review included an overview of online teaching and learning including its historical context within the field of distance education and then with a focus on the current status of K12 online teaching and learning. This section also included a discussion about and the definitions of key online teaching and learning terms. This section was included because online teaching and learning has a unique position in the history of education and a unique set of vocabulary terms. Online Teaching and Learning As the field of online teaching and learning becomes more prevalent as its own field, new sets of standards, new models, and new focus areas of study are being developed to address the unique needs of online teaching and learning. This literature review included a section on the growing field of online teaching and learning as it is both unique in the field of education and a component of this research study. Teacher Professional Development for Online Teaching and Learning This literature review included a section on the current research and resources related to teacher profession development for online teaching and learning, as this is specific to the research of this study. This section included standards and research for online professional development and for professional development for online teaching and learning along with resources for current educational technology standards. The Impact of Professional Development for Online Teaching on Teachers’ Face-to-Face Classroom Practices Finally, research about the impact of professional development for online teaching and learning on teachers’ face-to-face classroom practices was reviewed. It was this final area that the educational research community had noted research is needed (Carnevale, 2007; Davis et al., 2007; Kearsley & Blomeyer, 2004; Lowes, 2007). Only one researcher, Dr. Susan Lowes, had started to research the impact of teacher professional development for online teaching and learning on face-to-face teaching practices. Her research “suggests that professional development for online teaching may also have an effect on classroom teaching” (Lowes, 2007, p. 38). This study builds on Dr. Lowe’s suggestion and contributed to the research community in this area.
Originally, Joe said he didn’t experience changes in f2f teaching practice. But during interview, he realized that he had. Joe’s changes started with understanding that there was actually a need for change. He said that at first, the technologies he was learning about was not for him: I need to get on the ball. I really do. And I have touched base with a lot of my colleagues and I've told them, “Hey you know, we need to get on the ball, we need to get on this online classes because it's coming. It's coming and we're not prepared and we need to get on the ball. And I'm the department head and a lot of people said, “Okay, let's start next year, we'll start working on this.”
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