Designing a Virtual Learning Community for Elementary Mathematics Teachers

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: Investigations of Teacher Education Program Design and Innovations

Abstract

Building on recent work in educational design, this paper describes the development of a National Science Foundation-funded virtual learning community (VLC) for elementary mathematics teachers. The VLC is entering the second year of a three-year development project and has recently gone live to over 500 users. This paper describes how the VLC team designed the web-based community around three research-based pillars of effective live professional development while also utilizing the unique affordances of an online environment. It also describes lessons learned from ongoing research about designing a virtual space for teachers, including data from live teacher focus groups and from active site users. It ends with implications for educational designers and professional developers.

Authors

• Megan Schleppenbach, University of Chicago

• David Beer, University of Chicago