Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning

This study presents findings from an investigation of the impact of teachers who graduated from a fully online master’s degree program with training in pedagogy and a content-specialization in elementary reading and literacy (oERL) on reading achievement in a large urban public school system in the...

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Main Authors: Dr. Barbara Weschke, Dr. Raymond Barclay, Kirk Vandersall
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Online Learning Consortium 2011-06-01
Series:Online Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/174
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author Dr. Barbara Weschke
Dr. Raymond Barclay
Kirk Vandersall
author_facet Dr. Barbara Weschke
Dr. Raymond Barclay
Kirk Vandersall
author_sort Dr. Barbara Weschke
collection DOAJ
description This study presents findings from an investigation of the impact of teachers who graduated from a fully online master’s degree program with training in pedagogy and a content-specialization in elementary reading and literacy (oERL) on reading achievement in a large urban public school system in the northwestern United States. The research team used a non-equivalent group design and matched pairs of teachers based on degree, grade-level taught, and teaching experience to construct the study on three years of student and teacher data. The study consisted of 70 teachers and 3,828 student observations. Hierarchical linear modeling was employed to understand the teachers’ effects on student learning over time. Results indicate there was a significant positive effect of the oERL on student achievement. Broadly, this study is an example of a serious attempt to ascertain the impact of a high demand and fully online program on the community where graduates are employed. More narrowly, these results support the view that a fully online program aimed at training teachers, a rarity in graduate education, can provide opportunities for those teachers to obtain the pedagogical content knowledge that can positively influence instructional effectiveness.  
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spelling doaj.art-f9ba2ebd71534e8b8ea10120b63398552024-02-03T09:41:21ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302011-06-0115210.24059/olj.v15i2.174Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student LearningDr. Barbara WeschkeDr. Raymond BarclayKirk VandersallThis study presents findings from an investigation of the impact of teachers who graduated from a fully online master’s degree program with training in pedagogy and a content-specialization in elementary reading and literacy (oERL) on reading achievement in a large urban public school system in the northwestern United States. The research team used a non-equivalent group design and matched pairs of teachers based on degree, grade-level taught, and teaching experience to construct the study on three years of student and teacher data. The study consisted of 70 teachers and 3,828 student observations. Hierarchical linear modeling was employed to understand the teachers’ effects on student learning over time. Results indicate there was a significant positive effect of the oERL on student achievement. Broadly, this study is an example of a serious attempt to ascertain the impact of a high demand and fully online program on the community where graduates are employed. More narrowly, these results support the view that a fully online program aimed at training teachers, a rarity in graduate education, can provide opportunities for those teachers to obtain the pedagogical content knowledge that can positively influence instructional effectiveness.  https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/174Readingliteracystudent achievementelementary educationonline education
spellingShingle Dr. Barbara Weschke
Dr. Raymond Barclay
Kirk Vandersall
Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
Online Learning
Reading
literacy
student achievement
elementary education
online education
title Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
title_full Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
title_fullStr Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
title_full_unstemmed Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
title_short Online Teacher Education: Exploring the Impact of a Reading and Literacy Program on Student Learning
title_sort online teacher education exploring the impact of a reading and literacy program on student learning
topic Reading
literacy
student achievement
elementary education
online education
url https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/174
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