ERIC Number: EJ1040804
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jul
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-7069
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Online Professional Development for High-School Biology Teachers: Effects on Teachers' and Students' Knowledge
Goldenberg, Lauren B.; Culp, Katherine McMillan; Clements, Margaret; Pasquale, Marian; Anderson, Alice
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, v22 n3 p287-309 Jul 2014
One chronic challenge facing professional development providers is the need to convene and support groups of role-alike K-12 teachers who require similar kinds of discipline-and grade-level-specific training. Online courses have become an increasingly common way to meet this challenge. This article reports on a randomized control trial that tested the impact of one such course on teachers of high-school biology and their students. The course, Teaching High School Biology, sought to improve teachers' content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of how to integrate digital media resources into their teaching. The course was developed by WGBH's Teachers' Domain and delivered by PBS TeacherLine. The study finds that teacher participation in the course had a significant impact on teacher knowledge but did not improve student outcomes. The authors note that the course sought to help teachers learn about inquiry-oriented teaching methods that are difficult to implement in ways that have a significant impact on student learning. Future research would benefit by attending to whether and how an online professional development course aligns with local curricula and policy priorities that shape participants' instruction.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Science Teachers, Biology, High Schools, Secondary School Science, Secondary School Teachers, Teacher Participation, Teacher Influence, Knowledge Level, High School Students, Science Achievement, Online Courses, Teaching Methods, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Science Instruction, Instructional Effectiveness, Comparative Analysis, Teacher Characteristics, Institutional Characteristics, Pretests Posttests, Multivariate Analysis
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, VA 23327. Tel: 757-366-5606; Fax: 703-997-8760; e-mail: info@aace.org; Web site: http://www.aace.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of Science Related Attitudes
Grant or Contract Numbers: DRL0732186
Author Affiliations: N/A