Teacher Perception of Virtual Professional Development Over Two Years in a Longitudinal Science Intervention Program

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Utilizing Technology in Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Building teacher capacity for science education in rural schools and high-needs campuses is a critical need. We used qualitative and quantitative survey response data from 49 (year 1) and 45 (year 2) fifth-grade science teachers participating in a five-year longitudinal science intervention study with a randomized control trial (RCT). We examined teachers' perceptions relating to the effectiveness of ongoing, structured, and content specific virtual professional development through the school year 2017 and 2018. We found that teachers had positive perceptions towards the virtual delivery of PD and that the teacher perception was similar across rural and non-rural schools and participating years (1 and 2). VPD may be an effective tool in scaling up the teacher education programs to distant locations.

Authors

• Rafael Lara-Alecio, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Beverly J. Irby, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Sharmila Pathikonda, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Bhagyashree Barhate, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Elham Nikbakht, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Fuhui Tong, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Cindy Lynn Guerrero, Texas A&M University - College Station