How do in-service teachers experience and perceive online PD?
Overall, the survey provided insights into teachers’ perceptions, practices, and preferences regarding online PD through exploring their related attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs. Of the 29 survey participants, 27 had previously participated in online PD. These participants were asked to reflect on their experiences and beliefs in their responses. The two participants who had not participated in online PD were asked equivalent questions to determine their perceptions and beliefs about online PD. The responses of these two groups were very similar: those who did not have prior experience undertaking PD online were not more likely to have a neutral perception of or disagree on the perceived benefit of undertaking online PD, as has been reported elsewhere in the literature (Holmes et al. 2011). Due to the similarities between the two participant groups, the responses are reported and discussed together.
What does online PD mean to in-service teachers?
Before responding to questions around their perceptions, practices, and preferences, participants were asked to describe what they thought about when they heard the term ‘online professional development’. More than half of the participants (55%, n=16) responded with types of online PD, e.g. webinars, online courses, videos, and asynchronous communication. Flexibility was also clearly identified as part of online PD: 28% (n=8) responded with ‘flexibility’ or elements thereof (e.g. own pace, own time) in the open-ended question. Eleven participants (38%) also provided sentiments around online PD, with 45% (n=5) of these responses being positive, 27% (n=3) being neutral but tending towards positive (e.g. “Great but I don’t have the time” (Participant 11)), and 27% (n=3) being negative. These sentiments were analysed by looking at their sentence structure, adjectives, adverbs, and keywords to determine the positivity, neutrality, or negativity of the opinion expressed in the response.
The survey results discussed here are presented in two groups. The first group includes the Likert rating scale responses to statements investigating participants’ online behaviours, preferences, and perceptions of using online PD resources and opportunities. The second group of responses are those that were open-ended questions: these focused on the perceived advantages, disadvantages, and effective elements of online PD.
Understanding in-service teachers’ online PD behaviours, preferences, and perceptions
In this part of the survey, participants were asked to rate statements indicating their level of agreement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Five statements focused on participant behaviours and four statements related to participants’ preferences and perceptions. These results are discussed below.
Online PD behaviours
These statements were designed to understand the participants’ general behaviours around online PD opportunities and to provide a context in which their behaviours may influence their perceptions and preferences for online PD. Figure 1 shows that four out of five of participants (80%, n=23) have positive behaviours with online PD resources and opportunities.
As seen in Figure 1, the results show that most participants seek to improve their teaching practice (79%, n=23) and pedagogical knowledge (79%, n=23) through online PD opportunities. They also use online resources to support their teaching (97%, n=28). Participants indicated that they participate in online communities that support their teaching practice, with 79% (n=25) of participants agreeing, 14% (n=4) being neutral about their participation in online communities, and 7% (n=2) indicating that they did not participate in these communities. Interestingly, the participants indicated that they generally complete online PD that they start: 66% (n=19) complete the online PD that they start, 24% (n=7) indicated that they might only sometimes complete, and 10% (n=3) indicated that they do not complete these online PD opportunities.
Online PD preferences and perceptions
These statements enabled deeper contextualisation for the following open-ended questions in the survey, which are discussed in the following section. As seen in Figure 2, three of the four statements had generally positive responses, while the second statement about preferring to undertake PD online had a more neutral response, as discussed below. Figure 2 graphs the responses to these statements.
Most participants indicated that they prefer to research teaching practices online (62%, n=18), with 24% (n=7) indicating no preference and 14% (n=4) indicating that they do not prefer to do this online. While the participants’ behaviours (see Figure 1) indicated that they actively sought and used online PD opportunities, they were only slightly more positive about undertaking PD online with 38% (n=11) preferring to undertake PD online, 31% (n=9) not having a preference, and 31% (n=9) preferring not to undertake PD online. This result contrasts with the participants indicating that they enjoyed (62%, n=18) or neither enjoyed nor disliked (28%, n=8) undertaking PD online. To explore this further, the participants were asked to identify whether online PD is effective for them. Most participants (72%, n=21) agreed or strongly agreed that online PD was effective, with some (17%, n=5) neither agreeing nor disagreeing that it was effective, and few (10%, n=3) indicating that it was not effective.
Understanding in-service teachers’ perceptions of the advantages, disadvantages, and effective elements of online PD
Three open-ended questions were asked after the rating statements, and these questions were designed to further explore the participants’ perceptions of online PD in terms of advantages, disadvantages, and elements of effectiveness. The responses to these questions were analysed using thematic analysis to distil the key themes that arose. Table 2 presents an overview of the distilled themes, which are presented in detail with further analysis of the questions and responses below.
Table 2. Themes emerging about the perceived advantages, disadvantages, and effective elements of online PD.
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Effective elements
|
Flexibility (83%, n=26)
|
Human connection (69%, n=20)
|
Flexibility (52%, n=15)
|
Content (31%, n=9)
|
Flexibility (38%, n=11)
|
Human connection (24%, n=7)
|
Savings (24%, n=7)
|
Content (14%, n=4)
|
Content (21%, n=6)
|
|
Technology (14%, n=4)
|
Savings (14%, n=4)
|
|
Completion (14%, n=4)
|
Technology (3%, n=1)
|
Perceived advantages of online PD
In the survey, participants were asked to describe their perceived advantages of undertaking online PD. The responses were thematically analysed into three broad themes of flexibility, content, and savings. While the participants identified different aspects of these three themes, it was clear that these were considered the key advantages of undertaking online PD. Within these three themes, flexibility was the most common with most participants (84%, n=24) referring to aspects of flexibility such as being able to undertake the PD in their own time, at their own pace, and in a location that suited them, while having the flexibility to choose which PD they participated in based on their needs or interests. The theme of content was the next most commonly identified advantage (31%, n=9) and the responses fell into two categories: increased access to PD and increased access to resources. When describing how increased access was an advantage of online PD, participants commented on being able to participate in PDs that they would not have otherwise had access to due to the travel required or time zones. They also discussed the variety of PDs available online and that they could access interstate and international PD opportunities more easily. For increased access to resources, participants indicated that an advantage of online PD was included the asynchronous access to supporting information, being connected to professional networks, gaining access to the most current knowledge, and access to high-quality resources. The third theme of savings was considered an advantage by 24% (n=7) of participants. This theme arose when participants identified that online PDs saved them time, money, and travel associated costs. Overall, these advantages of online PD were weighted towards the typical affordances of technologies and asynchronous communications.
Perceived disadvantages of online PD
Participants were also asked to share their perceptions of the disadvantages of online PD. Five overarching themes were identified in the responses: lack of human connection, timing, technical issues, content-related factors, and completion. The most identified disadvantage was that online PD had less (or no) human connection. Sixty-nine percent of participants (n=20) felt not engaged, disconnected, and isolated while experiencing a lack of community, interaction, teacher presence, and networking. It is noteworthy that the two participants who had not experienced online PD only identified potential disadvantages within the human connection theme. The next most common disadvantage was regarding flexibility. Thirty-eight percent of participants (n=11) identified that flexibility was a problem because they had “competing attention demands” (Participant 1) and experienced a lack of timely feedback and responses, as well as a lack of flexibility in timing (e.g. requirements for synchronous activities). Some identified that the online PD became “extra work” (Participant 20) done in their own time. The three remaining themes were identified as equally disadvantageous with 14% (n=4) of respondents identifying these. The technological issues were related to technical requirements to engage with the online PD content (e.g. learning management system, webinar tools), general technology issues, internet connection, and feeling too similar to social media rather than learning. Content-related factors included disadvantages such as poor-quality resources, lack of guidance (which also relates to human connection), unnatural discussions, and “more complex concepts [being] more difficult to grasp online” (Participant 20). Like many online learning opportunities, it was also identified that PD completion was affected by being online and easily forgotten because it was not a face-to-face, synchronous opportunity. Overall, the identified disadvantages of online PD were typically focused on the human element in the PD process, but also reflected that sometimes an advantage could also be a disadvantage, as seen with the themes of flexibility and timing.
Perceived effective elements of online PD
Participants were asked what made online PD effective for them within their contexts. This open-ended question garnered responses in five themes: flexibility, human connection, content, savings, and technology. Flexibility was identified as the most important factor for effectiveness: 52% of participants (n=15) identified flexibility in timing, pace, and choice of content as being necessary for effective online PD. The next theme was human connection with 24% of participants (n=7) identifying this as being important: the comments indicated that the connection and communication with peers and facilitators are essential for effective online PD. The theme of content included the content being new, useful, relevant, current, and authentic; this was considered necessary for effective online PD by 21% of participants (n=6). Savings in time, cost, and travel were also identified by 14% of participants (n=4) as being a factor in effective online PD. Aspects of technology were identified by 3% of participants (n=1) as making online PD effective for them, including the use of a suitable technological platform for delivering the online PD and setting clear “rules of engagement” (Participant 16) within this space. Overall, these five themes align with those identified in the advantages and disadvantages, but to varying degrees.
What makes it come together for effective online PD?
Through understanding the complex context within which in-service teachers are experiencing and participating in online PD, as well as their perceptions of effective elements, an evidence-based approach to designing effective online PD can be developed. In-service teachers are already undertaking PD online through accessing resources and opportunities that further develop their professional knowledge and skills. However, their inconsistency in completing and reluctance to prefer online PD indicates that these offerings need to be improved and demonstrably more effective. Teachers can afford to be highly selective and more autonomous in their online PD undertakings and choose to opt-out when the PD does not meet their expectations. Considering that the first level of Guskey’s PD evaluation framework (2000) evaluates teacher reactions, the criticality of developing online PD that is effective through deeper understanding of teachers’ perceptions and experiences cannot be understated.
The survey results identified five themes that affect in-service teachers’ perceptions and experiences of online PD. These themes were presented in Table 2 in order of identification frequency. In all three survey questions, the themes of flexibility and content were identified, but to varying degrees with varying emphasis on the features within each theme. Interestingly, the themes of savings, human connection, and technology also appeared as elements of effectiveness and either a potential advantage or disadvantage, which indicates their importance when developing effective online PD for in-service teachers. These five themes are discussed below as elements that support effective online PD in order to understand how they come together for participants to create positive reactions, which support the first level of PD evaluation according to Guskey (2000).
Flexibility. As is widely recognised (Quinn et al. 2019; Binmohsen and Abrahams 2020; Koehler et al. 2013; Fathema et al. 2015), a key affordance of technology is its flexibility and adaptability. In the survey responses, the participants defined flexibility as being able to undertake online PD in their own time and at their own pace, with the content being what they are interested in and with options for asynchronous and synchronous participation in learning activities. They also described flexibility as including the level participation in the online PD: those who wanted to engage more were able to, and those who wanted to engage less and simply access the resources could do so. This flexibility is a particular advantage of online PD, but it also brought about disadvantages when it lacked sufficient structure and relied on the participants to fully determine their learning journey. Participants also identified that flexibility was important for effectiveness, although the degree of flexibility to achieve effectiveness is changeable depending on the content, context, and purpose of the online PD. Through this understanding of flexibility, it is clear that this element is complex and must be considered carefully when designing online PD as it can bring about advantages and disadvantages. In some cases, too much flexibility may be a disadvantage because more structure would be beneficial; in other cases, too little flexibility will hinder participation and completion of the online PD. In the literature, flexibility is considered a strength of online learning (Fathema et al. 2015; Herrington et al. 2009), and thus it could also be transferable to online PD. Furthermore, as Quinn et al. (2019) discussed in their article, participant choice, which is part of flexibility, is a critical feature of effective online PD.
Content. The literature has identified a content-focus as being an element of effective PD (Darling-Hammond et al. 2017; DeMonte 2013; OECD 2019; Yoon et al. 2007), and this element has been reinforced as a significant factor according to the survey participants in relation to the advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness of online PD. The participants’ responses have further enhanced and elaborated this element. There are advantages of online PD in terms of participants having greater access to resources and different content. Teachers can participate in PD opportunities that are not local to them, and there is greater opportunity for them to participate in a wider variety of PD opportunities. This diversity in content areas and access to more PD can allow teachers to participate in online PD offered by leading practitioners in the field and to engage with likeminded participants, as well as allowing teachers to personalise their PD to suit their desired professional pathway. However, the flipside of this element is that not all content is created equal: some content is high quality, and other content is not. Compensating for this, though, is the ability for teachers to quickly opt-out of a PD opportunity when they have made a judgement that it does not have the quality that they are seeking. While there is a plethora of online PD available, the quality may be hit-and-miss, so the flexibility that online PD affords allows teachers to stop participating in the online PD or not complete it.
Human connection. This element was identified as both a perceived disadvantage and perceived effective element in the survey. As a disadvantage, the participants noted that the lack of human connection and interaction distanced them from the PD content and resulted in fewer professional connections with their peers. Some participants felt that the lack of human connection was disengaging and reduced their tendency to complete the online PD. It follows on that human connection was identified as a critical element in effective online PD when there was direct, active engagement with peers and facilitators. This element of human connection aligns with the teaching and social presence elements from the community of inquiry framework developed by Garrison et al. (2010). These two community of inquiry framework elements have become a key element in online learning, particularly in online PD (Holmes et al. 2011). Interestingly, the responses in the survey conflated social presence and teaching presence into one notion of human connection where both connection with the facilitator and peers were seen as important. That is, lack of this connection is considered a disadvantage, while the human connection is also considered to be a part of effective online PD. Therefore, clear consideration of the balance of human connection, including both facilitator-participant connection and participant-peer connection, is important in ensuring effective online PD.
Savings. This was identified as both an advantage of online PD and an element of effective online PD. As an advantage, the time and cost savings that online PD presented to participants was conducive to positive experiences; however, as an element of effectiveness in online PD, the savings should allow participants to maximise their time and costs in undertaking the online PD. The element of savings can be associated with that of flexibility, in that the flexible nature of online PD can afford different savings in time and cost, while enabling participants to undertake the online PD outside of traditional working hours. Through these savings, as identified in the survey data, it can also be possible to undertake more online PD opportunities than would be possible when doing them in a traditional face-to-face environment. Moreover, the savings that participants may accrue should be made explicit and visible in order to leverage this as an element of effectiveness rather than an implicit assumption of undertaking PD online.
Technology. Technology has been identified in the literature as being an element of effective online PD, with DeMonte (2013) concerned with using technology wisely and Quinn et al. (2019) focusing on different aspects of the technology. The responses garnered here in the theme of technology advance the understandings of what this element comprises. This theme was identified as both a disadvantage and an element of effectiveness. The technology theme encompasses the software and tools, and the way that facilitators use these to support the PD. Having a balanced approach to technology and using technology to support the PD learning with technology-knowledgeable and technology-capable facilitators can provide an environment in which effective PD can be undertaken. As proposed by Koehler et al. (2013), technology knowledge is an important part of teaching using the digital technologies that are instrumental in providing PD in the online environment. In the case of online PD, understanding the constantly evolving digital space and its associated technology knowledge is particularly important in delivering effective online PD as this is how teachers experience the online PD and their reactions to it inform the first level of Guskey’s PD evaluation framework.
These five elements of effectiveness demonstrate that there is no simple answer to what makes an online PD opportunity effective, but rather it is a balancing act of the right combination of flexibility, content, human connection, savings, and technology that will make it effective. As discussed above, some elements can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, while also being crucial in the effectiveness of an online PD opportunity. Therefore, there is no simple panacea for developing and delivering effective online PD, but it can be designed and supported to be as effective as possible and must be further iterated based on participant feedback in order to ensure that it is meeting the needs of the teachers.