This item came through my inbox yesterday, it was the first item in one of Stephen’s Web ~ OLDaily.
OLDaily
by Stephen Downes
December 02, 2020
Professional Development for Online Teaching: A Literature Review
Heather Leary, et.al., online learning, Dec 02, 2020
According to this review (22 page PDF) of selected, filtered and codified research papers, “the highest areas of focus within the research questions related to the PD program itself, implementation, instructors, and helping the instructor design a quality course.” Meanwhile another major thread “examined instructor perceptions, outcomes, and characteristics.” Interestingly, “the PD program itself should be the largest focus of universities seeking to improve professional development at their institutions.” This actually makes sense; if you can’t get professional development right, you probably shouldn’t be advising people on how to do professional development. Additionally, “the type of professional development and the content within it should rely heavily on the needs of the participants at a given institution.” I say this about learning generally, but somehow get a lot of pushback.
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The details for this article are below.
Abstract
The growth of online learning has created a need for instructors who can competently teach online. This literature review explores the research questions, program recommendations, and future research suggestions related to professional development for online instructors. Articles were selected and coded based on date of publication and the context of the professional development. Results indicate that most research questions focused on (a) professional development programs, (b) instructors, and (c) instructors’ online courses. Most program recommendations focused on (a) professional development programs, (b) context of professional development, and (c) instructors’ activity during professional development. Future recommendations for research topics focused on professional development programs and instructors, while future recommendations for research methods focused on research design and institutional settings. The findings suggest that while professional development for online instructors is important, consistency in both design and delivery is lacking. Future research is needed to provide guidance to programs, instructors, and institutions leading to satisfaction and success for more online students.
Keywords
Professional development, Teacher development, Instructor development, Teaching onlineFull Text: