Robin D. Smith
PhD Portfolio
Dissertation
Planning
SITEMAP Real
World Problem to Be Addressed
K-12 schools offer more and more online classes every year but have
no formalized requirements for the teachers who will be working with
students in those courses. Only since the fall of 2006 have organizations
such as the National Education Association (NEA), National Council of
Teachers of English, Southern Regional Education Board, and National
American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) produced formal standards
outlining the skills and conceptual understandings that teachers need
in order to function effectively in an online environment. These organizations
disagree about what, if any, preparation should be required of online
teachers and what specific skills, attitudes, and knowledge they must
posses. We need to know more about practices that inform the education
of teachers who are working in an online environment, and we need a clearer
understanding of how teachers can implement those practices into effective
online learning for students.
There is a huge discrepancy between what online education looks like from school to school. Many virtual high schools simply upload texts, syllabi, and other course materials; the primary role of online teachers--who are actually called graders--is to evaluate summative student work. At the opposite extreme is The Online Academy (TOA), a virtual high school designed around authentic problems and situated learning. Teachers are actually expert mentors who guide students through the learning experience by demonstrating expertise, building relationships, developing conceptual understanding, and supporting students in becoming self-regulated learners with a sense of their own self-efficacy. Teachers for TOA are required to successfully complete five one-credit courses in The Online Academy for Teachers (TOAT) in order to become online teachers for TOA students. The TOAT coursework essentially parallels NEA’s standards for defining and implementing effective professional development for online teachers as outlined in the NEA Guide to Teaching Online Courses (2006, November). The problem of this study is to examine how teachers translate the practices they study in TOAT to engage students in successful learning in TOA.
- What makes a good online teacher?
- How do teachers translate their own experience and education into effective practice in online environments?
- What do students perceive as the characteristics of effective online teachers?
- What do teachers perceive as the characteristics of effective online teachers?
- What kinds of adaptations do good teachers make?
- What preparation do online teachers need?
- What support do online teachers need?
- What are the implications for teacher credentialing and the accreditation of teacher education program?
Methodological
Approaches to Guide This Study
Next summer we expect a minimum
of 50 students to take courses through The Online Academy.
Of these, at least 30 should be students in the humanities. I would
like to randomly select five of those history or English teacher/student
dyads and interview them as well as examine the email correspondence
that will document the bulk of their learning partnership. I will conduct
a qualitative analysis of the information I collect from these ten
participants.
Areas
of Expertise Needed on Dissertation Committee
Online Learning
Teacher Education
Learning Theory
Qualitative Research
Theories,
Concepts, and Research Literature to Guide This Study*
Online Learning for High School Students
Rosenhall
(2006) writes “An estimated 600,000 K-12 students nationwide
took classes online last year – the vast majority of them high
schoolers.” While this number may represent just over 1 percent
of the nation’s student body, NACOL (2006, November) reports that
online learning is growing “an estimated 30% annually in K-12 education.” In
fact, Michigan will start requiring its high school students to take
at least one class online to graduate from a public high school beginning
with the class of 2011 (eSchool News staff, 2006). Georgia has passed
legislation regulating cyber schools and North Carolina has created a
virtual public school (Watson & Ryan, 2006, p. 7). One-third of the
school districts in the U. S. offer some form of e-learning (NACOL, 2006).
However, there is a huge disconnect between the online programs offered
and the preparation, planning, and policies necessary to regulate the
education that takes place in those virtual schools.
In its 2004 National Education Technology Plan, the U.S. Department of Education set as one of its action goals the support of e-learning and virtual schools and stated that one strategy within this goal is to “enable every teacher to participate in e-learning training” (U. S. Department of Education, 2005, pp. 41-42). Only twelve states have both state-led online schools and policies in place to guide their development and the preparation of online teachers. Another twelve states have programs but no policies; fourteen states have no programs but have policies (Watson & Ryan, 2006, p. 7). As the NEA (2006) succinctly states, online education offers “a growing and vital opportunity for effective education in the United States. . . . As the field of online courses and online teaching expands and matures, there is a chance to learn from past experience, translate it to the online environment, and, put simply, get it right from the beginning” (p. 3). It is a bit late for getting it “right from the beginning,” but there is opportunity to get it right.
The Online Learner
Virtual
schools are the perfect environment in which to introduce learners
to what NEA (2006, November)
refers to as millennial skills and the NACOL
(2006, October) calls 21st century skills: global awareness, self-directed
learning, information and communication technology literacy, problem-solving
skills, time management, and personal responsibility. Sammons (2006)
proposes that distance education be designed around the learner-centered,
constructivist model proposed by Jerome Bruner in which the “’learner
selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes
a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure. . .provide[s] meaning
and organization to experiences and allows the individual to go beyond
the information given’” (p. 388). Learning is embedded in
the activities that learners perform; activities and teachers prompt
and “promote the cognitive processes learners use naturally as
they work toward understanding of their experiences. . . . [Learners]
discover or work out for themselves an understanding of a new experience
through careful reflection and critical analysis” (p. 388). Studies
in metacognition and experience also suggest that self-regulation and
self-efficacy are critical to students’ success in any learning
environment but especially in an online environment, which often offers
students more flexibility—and the need for accepting greater responsibility.
Self-regulation and self-efficacy enhance learners’ “self-satisfaction
and motivation to continue to improve their methods of learning. Because
of their superior motivation and adaptive learning methods, self-regulated
students are not only more likely to succeed academically but to view
their futures optimistically” (Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001) and
to develop the 21st century lifelong learning skills needed for a successful
private and public life. Of course, effective online teachers must first
be successful online learners.
The Online Teacher
The Commonwealth of Virginia instituted minimal technology standards
for teachers in March 1998. By December 1998, in order to teach in the
state, teachers had to prove their technological competence just as they
have to demonstrate their certification in a subject area and/or grade
level. Teacher education programs quickly incorporated these competencies
into their curricula; however, these competencies are largely restricted
to using word processing, databases, email, and desktop publishing. There
are no requirements for competencies in actually teaching in an online
environment. Virginia is typical in its failure to address the education
or credentialing of online teachers.
“The most important factor affecting student learning is the teacher,” states the Southern Regional Education Board (2006), and this is as true of virtual environments as it is of the face-to-face classroom. Quality online teaching reflects the attributes of any effective teaching. Both traditional classroom teachers and online teachers need to know their subjects and how to teach them. They also must understand their students, remain current in their fields, and manage and monitor student progress (Southern Regional Education Board, 2006). High quality online teaching starts with high quality teachers in general. If a teacher is not effective in a traditional classroom, he or she is not likely to be effective online either. Yet, there is growing recognition that online teaching requires special skills and considerations. “There are aspects of online teaching that are dramatically different than conventional classrooms. You could be a great physics teacher, but a horrible online physics teacher, if you aren’t able to manage your time or your students very well” (Appel, 2006).
To date, the characteristics of effective online teachers have been the topic of limited research (Blomeyer, 2006). Yet, there is a growing awareness in the research literature that teachers need to engage in staff development to support an understanding of online course development, online pedagogy, and methodology (Lowes, 2005). Included in research findings is the need for teachers to learn more about materials and equipment, about how to use learning management systems, and about new knowledge and practices to be applied to online learning environments (Blomeyer, 2006). To be effective online instructors, teachers need to learn to attend to the attributes of today’s students who have access to and can use technology to pursue opportunities and information. They must learn to manage their own time and schedules as well as to help students manage their time and schedules in these flexible environments and to develop the ability to prepare quality written communications not only to convey information but also to encourage and support students (Southern Regional Education Board, 2006). The online teacher has to be more of a guide and director for students. Teachers accustomed to lectures rather than projects and inquiry-based activities find their styles ill-suited to virtual classrooms. In addition, online teachers quickly discover that developing a relationship with online learners and “hearing” what the student is saying without any of the traditional face-to-face signals takes time – lots and lots of time (Wood, 2005).
To promote the effective preparation of online teachers, the Southern Regional Education Board (2006) released standards for quality online teaching “to provide more students with the courses they need, regardless of where students and teachers reside.” According to this document, a high-quality online teacher meets appropriate state standards, has appropriate academic credentials and prerequisite technology skills, demonstrates the ability to incorporate active and interactive learning strategies, provides leadership that promotes student success, has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student, and understands and is responsive to students with special needs.
Smith, Clark, and Blomeyer (2005) reviewed eight studies of online learning and reported that all eight of them identified the situated and effective preparation of highly qualified online teachers as a crucial element in the implementation of effective online learning programs. None of them, however, spoke to the model(s) of staff development that should be embraced for effectively preparing teachers to teach online. The Online Academy for Teachers addresses the question of what education, mentoring, and support systems should be in place to help teachers become effective online.
TOAT & TOA- Defined Teacher Preparation & Role
TOA
and TOAT offer the perfect model for a study of how teacher preparation
translates into effective
online learning. Both employ COPLS, Norton’s
(2003) community of practice learning system model. Learning is situated
and revolves around solving authentic problems. Learning is scaffolded
through the ART of mentoring (Norton, 2005), which promotes self-efficacy
and self-regulation in both teacher and learner. TOA and TOAT follow
best practices. TOA and TOAT offer a clearly defined teacher preparation
program and a clearly defined role for online teachers—the perfect
vantage point from which to examine how teachers use their own education
and experience to implement effective learning for students in virtual
environments.
References
Appel, J. (2006, September 29). New standards aid in virtual instruction. eSchool News online. Retrieved October 6, 2006, from http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/PFshowstory.cfm?ArticleID=6601
Blomeyer, R. L. (2006, Spring). Professional development for effective teaching and online learning. Virtual School Report published by Connections Academy. Retrieved October 5, 2006, from http://www.connectionsacademy.com/pdfs/VirtualNewsSpring2006.pdf
eSchool News Staff. (2006, April 3). Michigan first to mandate online learning. eSchool News online. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6223
Lowes, S. (2005). Online teaching and classroom change: The impact of virtual high school on its teachers and their schools. Unpublished manuscript.
National Education Association. (2006, November). Guide to teaching online. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from http://www.nea.org/technology/images/onlineteachguide.pdf
North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Virtual schools and 21st century skills. (2006, November). Retrieved November 15, 2006, from http://www.nacol.org/docs/VSand21stCenturySkillsFINALPaper.pdf
Norton, P. (2005). Scaffolding online learning: The ART of mentoring. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Norton, P. (2003). COPLS*: An alternative to traditional online course management tools (*Patent Pending). Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Rosenhall, L. (2006, October 5). UC to limit credit for online study. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 9, 2006, from http://www.sacbee.com/101/v-print/story/34138.html
Sammons, M. (2003). Exploring the new conception of teaching and learning in distance education. In M. G. Moore & W. G. Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of Distance Education (pp. 387-397). Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Smith, R., Clark, T., & Blomeyer, R. L. (2005). A synthesis of new research on K-12 online learning. Retrieved October 5, 2006, from http://www.ncrel.org/tech/synthesis/synthesis.pdf
Southern Regional Education Board. (2006, October). Standards for quality online teaching. Retrieved October 7, 2006, from http://www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/pubs/PDF/StandardsQualityOnlineTeaching.asp
The Peak Group. (2002). Virtual schools across America: Trends in K-12 online education, 2002. Retrieved October 15, 2006, from http://www.peakgroup.net/educationoutlook/virtualschools.html
U.S. Department of Education. (2005). Toward a new golden age in American education: How the Internet, the law and today’s students are revolutionizing expectations (National Education Technology Plan 2004). Retrieved October 12, 2006, from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/index.html
Watson, J., & Ryan, J. (2006, October). Keeping pace with k-12 online learning: A review of state-level policy and practice. Retrieved November 24, 2006, from http://www.nacol.org/docs/Keeping%20Pace%20with%20K-12%20Online%20Learning%202006.pdf
Wood, C. (2005, April). Highschool.com. Edutopia. Retrieved October 2, 2006, from http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/apr05.php
Zimmerman, B. J. & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed). Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
*Parts of the “Theories, Concepts and Research Literature to Guide This Study” section are taken from a conference paper, “Who Is on the Other End?” co-authored with Priscilla Norton and accepted by the Society for Technology and Teacher Education.
