Teacher Learning in the Digital Age: Online Professional Development in STEM Education

With an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training, Teacher Learning in the Digital Age examines exemplary models of online and blended teacher professional development, including information on the structure and design of each model, intended audience, and existing research and evaluation data. From video-based courses to just-in-time curriculum support platforms and MOOCs for educators, the cutting-edge initiatives described in these chapters illustrate the broad range of innovative programs that have emerged to support preservice and in-service teachers in formal and informal settings.

“As teacher development moves online,” the editors argue, “it’s important to ask what works and what doesn’t and for whom,” They address these questions by gathering the feedback of many of the top researchers, developers, and providers working in the field today.

Filled with abundant resources, Teacher Learning in the Digital Age reveals critical lessons and insights for designers, researchers, and educators in search of the most efficient and effective ways to leverage technology to support formal, as well as informal, teacher learning.

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies and former chair of the Learning and Teaching department at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was one of the key contributors on the 2010 National Education Technology Plan and has published several books about implementing technology in schools. He is active in policy initiatives, including creating a widely used State Policy Framework for Assessing Educational Technology Implementation and studying the potential of developing a scalability index for educational innovations.

Dede is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Foundations of Educational and Psychological Assessment, a member of the US Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Technology, and an International Steering Committee member for the Second International Technology in Education Study. He also serves on advisory boards and commissions for PBS TeacherLine, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, and several federal educational labs and regional technology centers and is a member of the board of directors of the Boston Tech Academy, an experimental small high school in the Boston Public School system funded by the Gates Foundation.

Dede was the editor of the 1998 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) yearbook, Learning with Technology, and co-editor (with James P. Honan and Laurence C. Peters) of the volume Scaling Up Success: Lessons Learned from Technology-based Educational Innovation (Jossey-Bass, 2005). He is also the editor of Online Professional Development for Teachers: Emerging Models and Methods (Harvard Education Press, 2006).

Arthur Eisenkraft is the Distinguished Professor of Science Education, professor of physics, and director of the Center of Science and Mathematics in Context (COSMIC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is past president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and is currently chair of the Science Academic Advisory Committee of the College Board. He is project director of the National Science Foundation-supported Active Physics and Active Chemistry projects, introducing high quality project-based science to all students. He is chair and cocreator of the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards, involving fifteen thousand students annually. He leads the Wipro Science Education Fellowship program which is bringing sustainable change to fifteen districts in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

His current research projects include investigating the efficacy of a second generation model of distance learning for professional development; a study of professional development choices that teachers make when facing a large scale curriculum change and assessing the technological literacy of K–12 students.

Eisenkraft has received numerous awards recognizing his teaching and related work including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the American Association of Physics Teachers Millikan Medal, the Disney Corporation’s Science Teacher of the Year, and the NSTA Robert Carleton Award. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, holds a patent for a laser vision testing system, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Rennssalaer Polytechnic Institute.

Kim Frumin is a doctoral candidate and Harvard Innovation Lab Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on educational technology and new K–12 school designs. Frumin was a founding member of the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Innovation (iZone) and served as Senior Director of Professional Development and Practice for iZone360, a whole-school redesign effort. Previously, she managed educational content, research, and outreach for international Sesame Street co-productions in Israel and Northern Ireland and served as an instructional coach in New York City public schools through Teaching Matters. Additionally, Frumin was a Fulbright Scholar in Israel, where she implemented an original photography and writing program with Bedouin youth.

Alex Hartley received her master’s in secondary education in 2015 from the College of Education and Human Development at University of Massachusetts Boston. She works in a kindergarten classroom at a Boston Public School, helping the classroom teacher design and implement engineering and STEM lessons. She has taught at the South End Technology Center, with Breakthrough Collaborative, and at a number of other schools and community centers in the Boston area.