Effectiveness of Online Professional Development Teaching Science Through Arts: Evaluation of Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Perceptions

• In Event: Science Teaching and Learning: Teacher Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract

The current study is part of a large-scale online professional development (PD) program that prepares teachers to implement both NGSS-aligned STEM and NGSS+Arts STEAM with the goals of increasing student and knowledge gains, teacher self-efficacy and teaching perceptions in elementary science. However, in order to bridge the gap between PD and practice, teachers must grow not only in their knowledge of new strategies, but also in their own ability to implement that practice, perceiving the practice as valuable to their students’ learning. Results from his study provide implications for the importance of examining the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teaching perceptions for the iterative improvement and design of high-quality online instructional PD programs in the future.

Authors

• Brad Hughes, University of California - Irvine

• Joseph Wong, University of California - Irvine