How will the research study work?
What are the requirements for participating teachers?
What are the benefits for participating teachers?
What online professional development workshops will be offered?
What are the technology requirements?
How can I get more information?
How can I sign up for the study?
How will the research study work?
Participating teachers will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. All teachers (both those in the experimental group and those in the control group) will take a series of online surveys and administer online tests to their students. The teachers in the experimental group will also participate in a series of three online professional development workshops.
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What are the requirements for participating teachers?
All teachers must agree to participate in this study which will span three semesters: the spring semester of one academic year, and the fall and spring semesters of the second academic year. The first round of studies is currently running over Spring 2007, Fall 2007, and Spring 2008. The next study will take place in Spring 2008, Fall 2008, and Spring 2009. The specific requirements will differ depending on whether a teacher is assigned to the experimental group or the control group.
Requirements for All Teachers (Experimental and Control)
All participating teachers will take two online surveys and administer three online tests to their students.
The teacher survey takes approximately 45–60 minutes to complete and consists of questions relating to the teacher's background, instructional practices, pedagogical beliefs, and knowledge of teaching content. The teacher survey is taken once at the beginning of the study (spring of the first academic year) and once at the end of the study (spring of the second academic year).
The student tests take one class period to administer (approximately 30–45 minutes) and consist of questions related to specific grade-level content. The student test is administered once at the beginnning of the study (spring of the first academic year), once during the middle of the study (fall of the second academic year), and once at the end of the study (spring of the second academic year).
Additional Requirements for Experimental Group Teacher Only
Teachers assigned to the experimental group will participate in a series of online professional development workshops (one workshop in the spring of the first academic year, one workshop in the fall of the second academic year, and one workshop in the spring of the second academic year). These workshops were designed with representatives from each state's department of education and are based on state and national standards. Each workshop is 6–8 weeks long and requires approximately 4–6 hours of work per week. Workshops do not have a set meeting time and work can be completed at your convenience during the duration of the workshop. (Click here for a description of the online professional development workshops.)
Timeline for All Teachers (Experimental and Control)
The following timeline presents the requirements for all participating teachers in the third (and final) round round of the research study.
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What are the benefits for participating teachers?
All participating teachers will be making an integral contribution to the field of knowledge and understanding about online professional development.
Benefits for All Teachers (Experimental and Control)
- If you participate in the research study, you will be asked to administer an online content test to your students. This test will contain questions in either English Language Arts or Mathematics. After administering the test, you will receive instant feedback about your students' performance. You can use this information to assess your students' learning and inform future instruction. Results are not just sent out into cyberspace- you get usable results and feedback immediately. For a sample of what student results will look like, visit the Sample
Results Page.
- You will also receive a $300 stipend for completing the online surveys and administering the surveys to your students.
Additional Benefits for Experimental Group Teachers Only
If you are a teacher who is randomly assigned to the experimental group, you will receive high-quality online professional development training, free of cost. Additionally, you might be able to earn professional development points or credit offered by your state:
Participants from ALL STATES will be eligible for graduate credits from Plymouth State University in NH. Participants are eligible for 3 graduate credits per workshop at the rate of $125/credit hour plus $25 registration fee.
- AL: 3 CEUs (30 contact hours) per workshop; 3 graduate credits in Education from Troy University for the series of workshops
- DE: 2% salary raise for cluster of three workshops
- KY: 24 hours of PD credit per workshop
- MO: CEUs and 2 graduate credits per workshop (rate of $100/credit hour)
- MS: 3 CEUs for each workshop
- NH: CEUs or 3 graduate credits per workshop from Plymouth State University (rate of $125/credit hour plus $25 registration fee)
- PA: 30 Act 48 Hours per workshop
- WV: 3 hours of non-degree graduate credit per workshop ($105 from Marshall University or $130 from West Virginia University)
Teachers outside the eight participating states are responsible for arranging any state-specific continuing education credits or professional development points.
Additional Benefits for Control Group Teachers
Teachers in the control group will have access to the three research workshops, free of charge, once the study completes (spring of the second academic year). Teachers outside the eight partner states will have until one calendar year after the end of the study to participate in these workshops.
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What online professional development workshops will be offered?
All workshops combine content information and teaching practices, giving you real-world ideas that you can immediately implement in your classes. The three workshops of each series are listed below and linked to the course syllabi.
- 4th Grade English Language Arts
- 5th Grade Mathematics
- 7th Grade English Language Arts
- 8th Grade Mathematics
Workshop/course availability is contingent upon funding from the e-Learning for Educators Ready to Teach grant from the USDOE.
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What are the technology requirements?
In order to participate, you must have the ability to give an online test to a classroom of your students (e.g., an internet-connected computer lab). Each computer used by the students must have:
- Internet Explorer (v6 or higher), Firefox, Opera, or Safari
- Internet access during the test
- Flash Player (v8 or higher, this is a free plug-in for your browser that your technology coordinator can install easily)
To see a sample of what the student test will look like, click here:
Sample Student Test
To determine if you have the proper version of Flash, click here:
Flash Version Checker
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How can I get more information?
If you have any questions regarding this research study, please contact the researchers directly:
- via email: efe.research@bc.edu
- Sheralyn Dash (617) 552-6230 (4th and 5th grade Teachers)
- Jessica Masters (617) 552-3574 (7th and 8th grade Teachers)
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How can I sign up for the study?
To sign up for the study, complete the following steps:
- Right-click on the Teacher Registration Form and click "Save Target As" and save the file to your computer with a ".doc" extension (as a Microsoft Word file).
- Open the file using Microsoft Word.
- Fill out the form by typing directly into the text boxes, choosing an option from the drop-down menus, or selecting a check-box.
- Save the file on your computer.
- e-Mail the file as an attachment to efe.research@bc.edu
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