Using Virtual Professional Development to Build Teachers' Instructional Capacity for English Learners: An Exploratory Study

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Pre- and In-Service Teacher Education for Emerging Bilinguals

Abstract

With the recent changes in student demographics in the United States and the development of technology, virtual professional development (VPD) for teachers of English learning students (ELs) has become a valuable means to support these teachers and their students. We developed a five-year VPD program, Project Massive Open Online Professional Individualized Learning (MOOPIL), funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition (PR/Award # T365Z170192) and provided in-depth descriptions in this paper. We also examined its effectiveness in a sample of 327 teachers of ELs (the first-year cohort). Our results supported the effectiveness of project MOOPIL, as indicated by large effect sizes across different units.

Authors

• Julia Lynch, Texas A&M University - College Station

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

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

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

• Zhiqing Zhou, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Erin A. Singer, Texas A&M University - College Station