A look back as we look ahead: An analysis of a statewide online professional development initiative
Abstract: As a recipient of a federal Race to the Top (RttT) grant in 2010, the state of North Carolina is focused on providing professional development to the approximately 100,000 teachers in the state. Along with other professional development initiatives, the NC Department of Public Instruction is interested in the flexibility and adaptability of online learning and is implementing a plan to create a series of online professional development modules. Acknowledging that school and district needs, resources and infrastructure vary considerably, these modules attempt to allow for flexibility in use. This paper reports on the challenges of this work, analyzing the six Phase I and nine Phase II modules currently developed and in use. This ongoing work will examine the design of the learning activities and pedagogical context of the modules themselves and examine the end of course surveys to include the perspectives of educators who are the end users of this online professional development.
Presider: Laura Wilson, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania