<<Return to Table of Contents
Professional Development
As learners are increasingly faced with a variety of new online learning options, teachers will need to develop an expanded skill set in order to take advantage of these tools. Though it is easy for this to become an afterthought, professional development and teacher training need to be a requisite and central part of any plan to implement online learning. The skills that teachers need will extend beyond technical skills and will likely involve new pedagogical approaches that will challenge previous notions of student engagement, assessment, group interaction, and student/teacher dialogue.
1
1. How does the school ensure that student access to online learning experiences are equitably distributed and not dependent on teacher assignments?
0
2. In what ways does the school recognize that advancing online learning often requires significant support for risk taking, time for faculty planning, and adjustment in the allocation of instructional time?
0
3. What are the pedagogical and technical skills that a school needs its teachers to have in order to engage students in understanding through distributed learning?
2
4. How do we prepare our teachers for this new method of teaching? What is the best way to prepare a teacher for teaching at a distance?
1
5. What professional development models best take advantage of the participatory culture that our students enjoy in their daily lives?
2
6. What standards will be implemented to address accountability and accreditation of an online course and an online teacher?
Brad Rathgeber
This is a huge part of the challenge presented by moving into more online teaching and learning, particularly for those teachers who have been/felt very successful teaching w/o online learning tools. Expectations must be deliberately and thoughtfully managed!
I can imagine parents taking an active role in facilitating their child’s online learning courses in some scenarios. Perhaps we need a question that relates to providing some aspect of PD support for parents.
Parents and teachers both need ongoing training to keep the awareness and probability of success for online learning at its highest level.