Evaluating the design of online professional learning
Date
2022
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Online Professional Learning (PL) has become a fundamental modality of providing PL support to teachers. The online learning design is one of the characteristics linked to the course's effectiveness. This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) aims to improve the quality of online professional learning courses by identifying the features of online course design that are lacking or need improvement. Specifically, this ELP seeks to assess the quality of an online course design using specific quality standards, identify the required revisions and redesign the course to ensure that it models the alignment with the standards. The University of Delaware’s Professional Development Center for Educators (PDCE) offered the course to middle school math teacher leaders from a partnering school district. Due to the urgency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, PDCE shifted its professional learning programs to online platforms to continue providing support to teachers through PL. Unfortunately, the instructors at PDCE lacked the expertise to design online courses. Research shows that developing a high-quality online course is challenging for instructors who lack pedagogical online experience and skills. There are several aspects of online course design that influence learning. This study identifies and develops strategies by synthesizing the empirical online professional learning literature. ☐ In this ELP, I proposed two strategies based on the literature to help improve the quality of the online course design. First, I reviewed the literature to determine what research says about a high-quality online course design, and secondly, I assessed the course using identified evaluation instruments reported in the literature. The ELP documents how I implemented the strategies as a course evaluator and advisor. The evaluation incorporated a survey to determine the elements of the online course design that the participants perceived to be supportive. The findings from the survey showed that most teacher leaders felt that the design elements and media tools incorporated in the course supported their learning. However, an assessment using the Open Suny Course Quality Review (OSCQR) rubric revealed that some critical areas of the course design needed revision. Therefore, the evaluation tool provided an action plan to redesign an online course using the popular Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas.
Description
Keywords
Online professional learning