A Case Study of the Effectiveness of Online Graduate Teacher Education in TESOL

A cadre of school teachers took part in three semesters of online coursework to earn TESOL certification. They participated in a hybrid university math course and a face-to-face summer institute on effective teaching of math to English learners. Participants took pre and post-tests aligned to Common Core elementary mathematics content and the Praxis Test for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. They were observed teaching a math lesson in the beginning of the project to evaluate effectiveness in TESOL instructional strategies. A follow up observation was conducted the following semester. Both observations were scored using the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP Model). Assessment and observation results indicated statistically significant growth in content and pedagogical knowledge and application. A qualitative analysis suggests flexibility in the form of online and hybrid courses, financial support, and practical application of new concepts to current practice are key factors in successful professional development for practicing teachers.

Implementing Age-Friendly University Principles: Institutional Supports, Barriers, and Outcomes

The University of Utah Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program received an Age-Friendly University (AFU) seed grant through GSA’s Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education, funded by AARP, to develop a model for promoting lifelong learning in partnership with university and community stakeholders. We designed and instituted a targeting marketing campaign that supported our goals: 1) to implement AFU principles; 2) to promote awareness of HB60, a legislative bill allowing people 62+ to audit courses at public universities for a minimal cost; 3) to enhance HB 60 enrollment through increased communication of online course options and tuition waiver support; and 4) to improve university and community stakeholder engagement. This presentation describes project benefits, including increased awareness of AFU initiatives, promoting age diversity, safe participation through online coursework, and enhanced community partnerships. The initiative garnered strong departmental support for marketing, communications, and structure for the post-award process. Barriers occurred due to a lack of HB60 infrastructure at the university level, which inadvertently obstructs organizational engagement. This initiative targeted AFU principles while supporting the university’s strategic goal of engaging communities and preparing to pursue membership in the AFU Global Network. Future AFU goals include developing advocacy channels within the university to improve organizational support.

How Can We Improve Online Learning at Community Colleges?: Voices from Online Instructors and Students

With the rapid growth of online learning at community colleges and the low course completion and performance associated with it, there has been increasing need to identify effective ways to address the challenges in online teaching and learning at this setting. Based on open-ended survey responses from 105 instructors and 365 students from multiple community colleges in a state, this study examined instructors’ and students’ perceptions of effective and ineffective instructional practices and changes needed in online coursework. By combining structural topic modelling techniques with human coding, we identified instructional practices that were perceived by both instructors and students as effective in supporting online learning as well as ineffective and needing improvement. Moreover, we identified a handful of misalignments between instructors and students in their perceptions of online teaching, including course workload and effective ways to communicate.

Disrupting Nursing Education in Light of COVID-19

Healthcare and health professions education is at the moment of a paradigm shift. The traditions of our institutions, such as in person courses and clinical experiences, are under tremendous strain. The COVID-19 pandemic, and sudden shift to almost fully online coursework, has provided a catalyst for new methods of nursing education for our profession. Crisis creates significant energy and can generate solutions to past barriers. Nursing education continues to be disrupted by the current events that require new thinking and innovation to create the nursing workforce of the future. In this article, we briefly discuss today’s challenges and the pandemic disruption and subsequent call for innovation. We offer evidence to support the path forward and examples of how to layer technology into innovative teaching and learning.

“Teachers Act Like We’re Robots”: TikTok as a Window Into Youth Experiences of Online Learning During COVID-19

Social media, and especially popular youth-focused platforms like TikTok, can offer a valuable window into youth experiences, including their perceptions of online learning. Building on a large-scale thematic analysis of 1,930 TikTok videos posted in March-June 2020, this study examines how young people shared their experiences of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicate that youth portrayed online coursework as overwhelming and relentless against the traumatic background of the pandemic. They sought support, empathy, and authenticity from teachers, and both received and provided emotional and educational support to peers on the platform. Students’ home contexts emerged as particularly salient, making visible the intersections between young people’s home, school and social lives. By facilitating a grounded, bottom-up understanding of students’ experiences and perceptions—shared in their preferred spaces and modes of expression—this research stresses the need to attend to youth perspectives to craft more equitable and empowering educational futures.

Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

This chapter reports the results of a qualitative case study focused on elementary pre-service teachers' perspectives on planning for disciplinary literacy using peer review in an online professional community (OPC). Seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an eight-week asynchronous, online content literacy course served as participants. Results indicated pre-service teachers' valued extended opportunities for reflection in the OPC and appreciated diverse backgrounds and experiences offered by their OPC colleagues. However, perceived challenges remained that are important to consider when incorporating peer review cycles into online asynchronous coursework. This study considers these perspectives in light of designing and planning online coursework in elementary disciplinary literacy.

ONLINE LEARNING IN EDUCATION SECTOR REVEALING THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

COVID-19 pandemic has led to secure disruptions in normal life, including closure of schools. It has impacted over 240 million children of the country who are enrolled in schools. Extended school closures may cause loss of learning. Online courses have the potential to open the pathways for more opportunities for students in “small, rural, or low socioeconomic school districts”. Online courses offer an excellent way for students to expand their educational opportunities and keep on competitive in the ever challenging realm of education. Students embarking on the path of higher education through online coursework need to be self-motivated, independent, and responsible learners. Understanding one’s learning style and skills will allow students to more accurately determine if online learning is suitable for them. Instructors and course designers will also benefit from understanding the aspects of a course that increase students’ understanding and participation. Communication in terms of supportive comments, constructive criticism, and prompt feedback from instructors to students is a key component of online courses. There are a number of drawbacks and potential issues that students may face while participating in an online course.

Techniques for Fostering Self-Regulated Learning Via Learning Management Systems in On-Campus and Online Courses

While self-regulated learning is a standard model for online coursework, this approach emphasizes the applicability of Learning Management System (LMS) usage in face-to-face and hybrid course formats. Self-regulated learning has become an important component of education, both as a primary tool in online coursework and as a supplemental resource in face-to-face courses. (Boekaerts, 1999). Yet despite its importance, research suggests that rather than utilizing the full potential of learning management and course management systems, instructors primarily use LMS and CMS as a delivery mode for course content (Boekarts, 1997; Vovides et al., 2007). Such underutilization not only minimizes the capacities of such systems, but limits the opportunities for students to engage in multimodal self-regulated learning. This paper offers three specific techniques to improve self-regulated learning via LMS: flipped learning, chunking, and micro-learning. Research findings have led to support for each of the above-mentioned techniques (Nwosisi et al., 2016; Miller, 1956; Major & Calandrino, 2018). The authors provide examples of techniques used in their own courses, how each facilitates self-regulated learning, and how utilizing the full capabilities of learning management systems engages students in multimodal self-regulated learning. Common findings and recommendations will also be noted, with the goal of providing a framework for instructors to apply each technique via learning management systems in their own courses.

Students’ Perceptions of Preparation for Online Graduate Course Work

An anonymous online survey was used to understand participants’ perceptions about their preparation for online coursework. Sixty students from five graduate programs in education completed a 1-4 Likert scale survey with 20-questions and six open-ended responses. Quantitative responses from the 20 questions were divided into two subgroups, those younger than or equal to 40 years of age, and those over 40 years of age based on Prensky's date for the beginning of the digital native group. Qualitative data were collected through 6 open-ended questions from the same survey. Data revealed that both subgroups felt well prepared when registering for online courses. However, when it came to overall preparedness for using technology, those over 40 years of age did not view themselves as well prepared as those younger than 40. Using digital resources outside of the learning management system presented more significant challenges to the older subgroup of learners. Two factors impacting graduate students’ online performance became evident through this study; the impact of technology experience rather than age and what is meant for a student to be well-prepared for online course work.

Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

This chapter reports the results of a qualitative case study focused on elementary pre-service teachers' perspectives on planning for disciplinary literacy using peer review in an online professional community (OPC). Seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an eight-week asynchronous, online content literacy course served as participants. Results indicated pre-service teachers' valued extended opportunities for reflection in the OPC and appreciated diverse backgrounds and experiences offered by their OPC colleagues. However, perceived challenges remained that are important to consider when incorporating peer review cycles into online asynchronous coursework. This study considers these perspectives in light of designing and planning online coursework in elementary disciplinary literacy.