Teacher preparation programs have been slow to answer calls to prepare teachers for the online learning environment, leaving many online teachers needing to learn on the job. However, little research has examined how online teachers grow as educators while teaching online. One way to better understand this growth is to examine the changes online…

This paper outlines a collaborative effort to respond and support the instructional needs and concerns of teacher educators due to the challenges posed by the sudden onset of emergency remote teaching at the university level. The School of Teacher Education members formed a synergistic Remote Learning Community, developed an action plan and…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities to move all in-person courses to a remote or online learning format. As a result, many faculty, including teacher educators, opted to transition their courses to live synchronous web meetings using web conferencing tools like Zoom. Despite benefits of synchronous communication, there are…

The rapid shift to online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of motivationally enhanced and emotionally supportive instruction during this stressful time. In this paper we demonstrate how five theoretically situated and empirically supported motivational design principles can be used to create effective…

Several online programs use on-site facilitators to create a stronger sense of community and reduce student dropout. However, very little research addresses how programs that are fully online can provide their students with comparable support. Using K-12 online research, this case study analyzed a "shepherding program" at Mountain…

A study was conducted to examine the self-efficacy of first-year teachers trained in an alternative certification program. Teachers were provided access to professional development through blended learning, yet had varying levels of attendance in the online component (e-coaching). Teachers who attended six or more e-coaching sessions began the…

This study examined the benefits and difficulties that graduate student teachers perceived while participating in online collaborative group activities during their first year of a masters program. Overall, it was discovered that the three most prominent perceived learning outcomes involved 1) the teachers' recognition of the value of a supportive…

This article explores results from a research project studying teacher learning and faculty teaching in two online courses for teachers in a master's degree program. We focus on the interactions among students in online small-group discussions. We argue that three aspects of the online courses impact the way students enter into discussions online,…

This study investigated the impact of a project-based graduate practicum experience that was facilitated online. The study investigated the effects of the online practicum experience by: (a) using quantitative data to assess the learning and professional growth of the practicum participants in comparison to a group of teachers that did not…

Instructors who teach in online learning environments have the unique opportunity to enhance the interaction of their students through an online threaded discussion board. With effective planning and skillful facilitation techniques, this venue for posting messages can be used as a resource to engage learners in becoming an interactive and…

Today, forums constitute an integral part of almost all online courses in teacher education colleges. In many of these courses the forum serves for sharing opinions, attitudes, and feelings by the learners rather than for scaffolding cognitive processes. The forum in the "Human Biology and Health" course for prospective elementary-school science…

This article discusses the creation of a teacher as researcher learning environment in one small rural Idaho elementary school through the Internet. At the request of five elementary school teachers from the same rural school district, the researcher, a university professor, created an online course, "Teacher as Researcher," which provided…