Easily accessible, asynchronous professional learning can support new career technical educators' instructional skill development from their 1st day of employment. This two-cycle action research inquiry aimed to improve special education student engagement in the licensed trades curriculum by exploring the connection between teacher induction…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has solicited public comment on pandemic-related revisions to its important "Learning Time" regulation, 603 CMR 27.00. The revisions establish baseline procedural and substantive requirements for in-person, hybrid, and remote learning. Appreciating that the…

Given the widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in the United States, there is a need to study new models of professional development to prepare teachers to enact practice-based visions of science learning and to address problems of access to reach teachers nationwide. While studies of online professional development offer…

For many students, conforming to the traditional K-12 education system is not always compatible with their life circumstances. Map Academy in Plymouth, Massachusetts, now in its second year of operation, aims to provide an education that adapts to the needs and interests of its students while maintaining high expectations. This profile of Map…

In a time of flat enrollments in traditional higher education, online learning is booming. This article describes how one university evolved its programs to be on the forefront of the fastest-growing segment of online programs, hybrid learning. With a relatively minor investment in infrastructure, classes are delivered simultaneously to students…

"Circuits and Electronics" (6.002x), which began in March 2012, was the first MOOC developed by edX, the consortium led by MIT and Harvard. Over 155,000 students initially registered for 6.002x, which was composed of video lectures, interactive problems, online laboratories, and a discussion forum. As the course ended in June 2012,…

Between 2006 and 2010, sophomore engineering students at four universities were exposed to technologies designed to increase their learning in undergraduate engineering courses. Our findings suggest that students at all sites found the technologies integrated into their courses useful to their learning. Video solutions received the most positive…

This dissertation study chronicles the creation of a computer-based, asynchronously delivered diversity training course for a state agency. The course format enabled efficient delivery of a mandatory curriculum to the Massachusetts Department of State Police workforce. However, the asynchronous format posed a challenge to achieving the learning…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

The study compared the effects of a professional development course delivered in an online and a face-to-face format. The effects examined included changes in teachers' pedagogical beliefs, instructional practices, and understanding of teaching number-sense and related mathematical concepts. The study randomly assigned participants to either the…

Drawing on the University of Massachusetts experience in developing successful blended local programs, this paper suggests guiding principles that include mission-driven responsiveness to local contexts and partnerships; using low-cost marketing strategies available through local relationships and brand; attending to students' preferences for…

Online and face-to-face courses are often viewed and studied as two distinct worlds, but the social field of the teacher who teaches them may well include both, and both the teacher and the courses he or she teaches may be transformed by the movement from one environment to the other. Susan Lowes explores this two-way interaction between…

Online teaching is a complex professional practice. In addition to their content knowledge and pedagogical skill, online teachers must be qualified in methods of teaching the content online and have experience in online learning. This document examines some of the aspects of online teaching, specifically those related to communication and…