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Betsey Kennedy's MEDT8484 Research Seminar Wiki (I did not see a draft of your research plan where you pull together and edited all that has been written into a coherent and meaningful document) __**Title:**__ Professional Learning at Your Fingertips: The Impact of Podcasts and Online Classrooms on Teachers' Professional Growth

__**Proposed topic:**__ Using technology to bring effective and efficient professional learning to teachers

__**Overview:**__ In today's schools, teachers are expected to meet high demands in terms of instruction, management, planning, and preparation which leaves them with little time to focus on their own professional learning. As a result, many teachers participate in nothing more than the trainings and workshops required by their school systems and use very little of the information to improve or enhance their classroom instruction (Gusky, 2002). Thus, professional learning has very little impact on student achievement (Yoon et. al., 2007). A great deal of research into effective professional development has been done, but time constraints remain a constant hindrance to teachers seeking to improve their teaching skills. In order to remedy this problem, teachers need access to professional learning opportunities that meet their specific needs and allow for flexibility with time and place (Duncan-Howell, 2010). Providing technology-based professional development can help to meet both of those criteria. In this study, teachers will listen to weekly podcasts and/or view vodcasts focused on an area of professional learning that has gained a significant amount of attention in recent years--providing effective feedback to students. Participants will then interact about their learning in an online community. Discussion forums in Moodle will be used for this element of the study. Within these discussion forums, participants will discuss the content of the week's podcast along with its impact on their instruction. At several points during the study, teachers will be asked to put their new learning into practice within their own classrooms and share the results with other participants in the online classroom. The professional learning course will last for several weeks. Throughout this time, teachers will participate in online surveys to track their professional growth and document their responses to the technology-based professional learning model. The goal of the study will be to determine the effect of technology-based professional learning on teachers' attitudes toward professional learning and its impact on classroom instruction. __**Research Question:**__ What is the effect of technology-based professional learning on teachers' attitudes and classroom instruction?

__**References:**__ Duncan-Howell, J. (2010). Teachers making connections: Online communities as a source of professional learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 324-340. Retrieved August 27, 2010 from []

Guskey, T., & Yoon, K. (2009). What works in professional development?. //Phi Delta Kappan//, //90//(7), 495-500. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from []

Yoon, K., Duncan, T., Lee, S., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement: Issues & answers. REL 2007-No. 033. //Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest//, Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from [].