Barriers to professional development can negatively impact educators' ability to participate. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the role of an early childhood education (ECE) book club in ameliorating challenges to participation in professional development in a childcare center in Ontario, Canada. Data collected in Cycle…

Music teachers in urban, suburban, and rural communities face a multitude of challenges and opportunities. To identify and examine specific experiences that may be unique to rural general music teachers, we recruited six teacher-participants to complete a 5-week online professional development (PD) course for this exploratory study. We created a…

With online learning becoming a more viable option for teachers to develop their expertise, our report shares one such effort focused on improving the teaching of statistics. We share design principles and learning opportunities in an online course developed specifically to serve as a widescale online professional development opportunity for…

This paper outlines a collaborative effort to respond and support the instructional needs and concerns of teacher educators due to the challenges posed by the sudden onset of emergency remote teaching at the university level. The School of Teacher Education members formed a synergistic Remote Learning Community, developed an action plan and…

With the growing number of online students, universities must provide support for students in developmental education to engage, collaborate, and co-construct their learning in socially dynamic ways. Online learning communities provide spaces for students to identify with others, communicate openly and candidly, and develop professional…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer opportunities for professional development of environmental educators globally, yet we lack understanding of participants™ cognitive and social learning processes and of how instructors can enhance these processes. Based on the Community of Inquiry framework, we used a survey and coded participant…

The purpose of the current study was to examine teachers' career needs and psychosocial experience during the COVID-19 pandemic within the phenomenological pattern of qualitative research methods. The data collection process included individual interviews and an online survey form. As a result of the research, four main themes were obtained. The…

Children's earliest years are times of significant development and learning, yet the professionals who provide care for young children often do not receive the economic or professional support they need and deserve. Given the unique situations of child care professionals, especially those running their own family child care businesses, we must…

Within higher education, a need exists for learning designs that facilitate education and support students in sharing, examining, and refining their critical identities as learners and professionals. In the past, technology-mediated identity work has focused on individual tool use or a learning setting. However, we as professional learning…

Online professional development (OPD) is gaining increasing popularity. However, online learning environments are not always considered effective venues for supporting authentic learning experiences, and the suitability of OPD for practical learning has not been widely explored. This case study paper presents findings of a pilot implementation of…

Effective communication is essential in every organization, including educational institutions. Often, members of the online community work in isolation. Collaboration across varying disciplines and departments can promote unique professional development activities and create a stronger connection to the entire online community. "Enriching…

Readers can explore 13 teaching innovations presented at the 2019 Association for Business Communication annual international conference in Detroit, Michigan. These assignments are designed to add fuel to oral and written persuasion, including the practical use of rhetorical tools. Ideas to advance learners' professional development are presented.…

As more classes move to online instruction, there is a need for research that shows the effectiveness of synchronous learning. Educators must guide students on how to use these new learning tools and become aware of the research trends and opportunities within these developing online and hybrid courses. "Educational Technology and Resources…

This study examines primary grades teachers' instructional decisions in their mathematics classroom during their participation in a year-long professional development program on formative assessment. Teachers participated in 40 h of face-to-face workshops followed by 40 h of classroom-embedded activities that were facilitated in an asynchronous…

The use of technology provides unique ways to create an engaged online community of learning for professionals that can be integrated into existing and future Extension programming. The Targeted Food Marketing to Youth online professional development course uses strategies and tools to create and support an engaged online community.