Improving Competency Based Professional Development in Elementary Mathematics
Abstract: Teachers and other professionals working in rural schools often have limited access to professional development opportunities and may participate in professional learning programs that fall well outside their content expertise or professional responsibilities. This study examined how rural elementary teachers working in a variety of content areas including general education, specials, and administration perceived the quality and utility of an online professional development module designed to help improve instructional practice for teaching elementary mathematics word problems. Results varied as a function of teachers’ roles and responsibilities, as well as which iteration of the micro-credential the participants completed.