Professional Learning for K-12 Educators Who Provide Blended and

With the increasing number of traditional schools developing and implementing blended learning programs, professional learning gains unprecedented focus, for teachers currently employed in traditional schools had little or no online learning experience or even courses regarding technology integration during their pre-service programs (Archambault & Crippen, 2009; Pape, 2007). Practitioners are equally challenged by a limited research base regarding the benefits of professional learning of educators who provide online learning (Smith et al., 2005; Kennedy, 2013; Rice, 2009). Although increasing, attention to instructors’ professional learning needs continues to be negligible (Archambault & Crippen, 2009; Cavanaugh, Barbour, & Clark, 2009).

Practitioners seeking the credentials, characteristics, and pre-service preparation programs recommended for teachers who provide blended or online instruction find that little attention has been given to this area (Archambault & Crippen, 2009; Cavanaugh, Barbour, & Clark, 2009). As such, it is unlikely that undergraduate programs that require as few as one course on the integration of technology are adequately preparing teachers to provide online instruction, which shifts the burden of providing professional learning to the blended and online schools (Archambault & Crippen, 2009; Pape, 2007).

While the initial need to focus on professional learning that targets the technology interface used to provide online instruction has shifted to a recognized need to concentrate on support and pedagogy, “a substantial amount of professional development time is still spent on learning the technology” (Lowes, 2007, p.164). A continued focus to properly prepare pre- service teachers, pedagogical issues in traditional environments, online pedagogy, classroom management in traditional and online settings, and various technology resources and learning management systems to facilitate online instruction and assessment should comprise college programs charged with preparing future teachers of blended and online instruction (Archambault & Crippen, 2009).

Consistency regarding professional learning for teachers who provide online instruction does not exist (Lowes, 2007). This inconsistency is likely due to the lack of structure in university certification programs (Archambault & Crippen, 2009; Herring, 2004; Lowes, 2007); school-level, as opposed to state-wide or nation-wide, identification of professional development foci (Lowes, 2007); and a lack of regulations regarding the online learning environment (Lowes, 2007; Reid et al., 2009).

While these variances exist, there are some areas that states and practitioners agree upon, including the requirement that teachers who provide online instruction participate in an online course prior to providing instruction (Lowes, 2007; Watson & Gemin, 2009), providing professional learning for teachers of blended an online instruction in a blended learning format (Lowes, 2007; Watson & Ryan, 2006), and identifying the need to provide mentors for teachers who provide online instruction (Lowes, 2007; Pape, 2007).

Programs implement professional learning programs in a variety of ways, but most incorporate an online component at least part of the time to focus on a variety of topics: online pedagogy, policies, technology content delivery resources, and the learning management system (Pape, 2007). While some provide the professional learning from internal experts, most rely on experienced online learning providers to provide professional learning (Pape, 2007).

Most pre-service teaching programs do not offer courses of study focused on preparing teachers to provide instruction in blended and online learning environments (Watson et al., 2011). In the majority of states, certification requirements for teachers who provide online instruction are no different than states’ certification requirements for teachers in traditional, brick-and-mortar programs (Watson et al., 2004).

In addition to addressing pre-service programs that did not required integrated technology courses of pre-service teachers, schools developing blended and online programs face certification challenges for teachers. State qualifications for teachers who provide online instruction do not differ from state licensure for teachers providing instruction in traditional learning environments (Watson et al., 2008; Watson & Ryan, 2006); however, some are beginning to develop additional requirements for these professionals (Watson et al., 2008).

Realizing the need for extensive professional learning focused on teaching in an online environment, most prefer employing teachers with previous classroom experience to expecting novice teachers to master both content expertise and effective online instruction simultaneously (Watson & Ryan, 2006). While practitioners recognize the need for extensive professional learning focused on effective teaching skills, pedagogy, classroom management, communication, and student engagement in online learning environments, there is no consistency regarding the amount of time such professional learning requires (Watson & Ryan, 2006).

To assess teachers’ online instruction, administrators rely on quality assurance measures such as rubrics that encompass student assessments, administrators’ observations, communication through courses, and implemented interventions to increase student achievement; a comprehensive review of feedback from all stakeholder groups, including parents, students, other staff members, and teachers’ self-reflections; feedback, both formative and summative, given to teachers through the year; and evaluations systems that incorporate multiple measures of teachers’ performance, student achievement, course completion, and student retention; and professional growth (Pape, 2007).

Teachers communicate a variety of professional learning needs associated with teaching in an online or blended learning environment. The most common need communicated regarding professional development, is the need of in-school support from technology experts to answer questions or provide resources (Oliver et al., 2010).

The timeline for professional development should be ongoing (Oliver et al., 2010); however, few programs extend professional learning support beyond the first year of implementing blended or online instruction. Specifically, while most teachers participate in professional learning during their first year of providing online and blended instruction, half as

many say the same during their second year of teaching in a blended or online environment (Rice & Dawley, 2007).

More specifically, teachers need well-timed, bite-sized professional development, comparative models of course design, orientation of course delivery tools, how to assess learners online, how to prepare online content without violating copyright restrictions, ensuring online safety of students, definitions and best practices of Web 2.0, and how to prepare documentation for a course to assist in deployment efforts (Oliver, 2010).

Common professional development themes included the following: building community and interaction; use of a train-the-trainer model; tiered training to address the needs of advanced teachers; attendance at professional conferences; and participating in social networks as forms of professional development (Rice & Dawley, 2007).

First-year topics included knowledge of online teaching (63 percent), asynchronous communication tools (63 percent), LMS tools (62 percent), and time management strategies (63 percent) (Rice & Dawley, 2007). Least reported topics included design tools (nine percent), graphic design principles (nine percent), and presentation tools (nine percent) (Rice & Dawley, 2007).

Second-year topics included knowledge of the field of online teaching (70 percent), asynchronous communication tools (70 percent), and synchronous communication tools (70 percent) (Rice and Dawley, 2007). Least emphasis was given to graphic design principles of online lessons (20 percent) and instructional design principles (20 percent) (Rice & Dawley, 2007).

The majority of professional development is provided by schools (Rice & Dawley, 2007). Sixty-nine percent reported participating in ongoing sessions; 52 percent were limited to one- time sessions; and 34 percent attended summer workshops (Rice & Dawley, 2007).

While the need for professional development to support blended and online learning is consistently supported, the topics of professional learning and the amount of time that teachers receive structured professional support varies across programs, studies, and states. Administrators can support professional learning needs; however, as explained in the next section, their professional learning needs oftentimes go unmet.