Online Science Teacher Professional Development: Optimization of Asynchronous Learning Models

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This project will compare and evaluate different models for the delivery of online professional development aimed at elementary science teachers. The focus is on asynchronous (anytime, anywhere) and minimally facilitated models, because these approaches hold promise for reaching large numbers of teachers in a cost-effective way. The research capitalizes on experiences with BCM's award-winning, high traffic website for educators, BioEd Online. The project will investigate: 1) which asynchronous online professional development delivery methods contribute most strongly to teacher and student science learning; 2) whether linking classroom experiences and discussions to asynchronous online learning significantly enhances teacher and student learning; and 3) whether the effectiveness of different delivery models varies among subpopulations of teachers (demographics, specialization, etc.). The objectives are to: 1) compare the effectiveness of four different online delivery modes for both life and physical science (delivery modes consist of: audio only; video content presentation with slides; content embedded in an online interactive case; and content embedded in video lesson demonstration); 2) investigate whether having teachers teach an inquiry lesson and take part in a discussion forum after completing one of the four delivery modes contributes to greater knowledge gains; 3) examine teacher knowledge gains and abilities to apply knowledge to new problems and student lesson-specific knowledge gains; and disaggregate data by content area (life or physical science), delivery mode and teacher demographics; 4) collect qualitative data about asynchronous models in use by interviewing online providers of science teacher professional development; 5) synthesize and report findings to inform current and future online offerings.Intellectual Merit. Online professional development has potential to meet the needs of large numbers of rural and urban teachers for high quality content and standards-based teaching approaches. Web-based delivery offers convenient access to content, content experts, resources, and participation in communities of teacher-learners. Broader Impacts. Web-based professional development removes barriers related to distance, time or and local course availability and can serve large numbers of teachers. As many as 1.5 million elementary teachers may need up-to-date science professional development now or in the near future. There is mounting evidence that web-based instruction can be as effective as traditional instruction, even for novice users. The research will inform the field of asynchronous, web-based instruction in science and contribute to the design of best practice models to meet elementary teachers' professional development needs online.