Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 23
Designing Online Learning Environments
for Professional Development
Kedmon Hungwe
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA, e-mail: khungwe@mtu.edu
Introduction
Web-based Internet technologies afford expanded options for the design of online
learning (Nipper, 1989; Breivik & Gee, 2006; Mitra & Hall, 2002; Fishman &
Davis, 2006). The premise of this work is that the design of online professional
development for teachers should encourage reflections about practice through par-
ticipation in networks of peers. Bruner (1996) has argued that reforms in education
must contend against deeply entrenched pre-understandings that may have to be
replaced or modified. Teachers tend to innovate ad hocly, piecing together ideas
and activities picked up from textbooks, colleagues, workshops, and conferences.
This results in instructional practices that lack an adequate conceptual base and
structure (Berns & Swanson, 2000). Bruner has therefore proposed that the starting
point of reform should be to gain some insight into teachers' prior understandings.
The use of online learning to support teacher learning and reflection may contribute
to this.
In the USA, the primary impetus for professional development has been the
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which is the cornerstone of federal
K-12 education reform. The act requires that states ensure the availability of high-
quality professional development for teachers and administrators. The law also
establishes student-testing guidelines that are used for judging school effectiveness
and specifies consequences for school failure.
The National Science Education Standards provide guidelines for curriculum
reform in science (National Research Council, 1996). A key component of the
reform agenda in science is universal scientific literacy, to be achieved by reforming
practice so that it is meaning oriented. Education should foster creativity, inquisi-
tiveness, and a deep understanding of concepts and their interconnectedness within
and across the disciplines. The methodology proposed for achieving these goals is
classroom inquiry. Classroom inquiry is both a way to teach science and a way
