The Design and Evaluation of Online Early Science Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators
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This study examines the effectiveness of an online early science professional development program for early childhood educators in the United States. The program consists of 9 online, self-paced, asynchronous courses addressing early science processes and content areas. Participants were recruited through a midwestern United States early childhood teacher registry. Participant course and learning evaluations were collected at the end of each course. Course and learning evaluations addressed participants’ online learning experience, their perceived understanding of early science content knowledge, and their pedagogical connections and confidence in understanding and teaching early science. Descriptive analysis showed high scores in items related to participants’ online learning experiences and course impact measures. Regression analysis showed significant models of course impact items predicted by online learning course evaluation items. Results suggest that future online professional development design should attend to participants’ online learning experiences in addition to professional development content.
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of an online early science professional development program for early childhood educators in the United States. The program consists of 9 online, self-paced, asynchronous courses addressing early science processes and content areas. Participants were recruited through a midwestern United States early childhood teacher registry. Participant course and learning evaluations were collected at the end of each course. Course and learning evaluations addressed participants’ online learning experience, their perceived understanding of early science content knowledge, and their pedagogical connections and confidence in understanding and teaching early science. Descriptive analysis showed high scores in items related to participants’ online learning experiences and course impact measures. Regression analysis showed significant models of course impact items predicted by online learning course evaluation items. Results suggest that future online professional development design should attend to participants’ online learning experiences in addition to professional development content.