Distance learning is one way for the busy or remotely situated teacher to “keep up” with developments in the sciences, in teaching practices, and in the ways to respond to changing standards and assessments.
This catalog aids educators’ search for such distance-learning programs, courses, and other professional development opportunities. Increasingly, colleges, universities, professional organizations, and private companies offer continuing education experiences for teachers on line. They are the correspondence courses for the electronic era.
This catalog is meant as a resource for middle and high school teachers who seek opportunities to
- Participate in professional development activities from home and within a flexible time frame.
- Add depth and substance to their current content knowledge and practical teaching skills.
- Find updated instructional strategies to incorporate into their regular science program.
- Enrich their curriculum with new themes, concepts, and standards.
Working from the perspective of middle and high school science teachers seeking professional development, we searched the Internet in much the same way as the individual teacher would. The search targeted any formal learning in science content or teaching practice that could be accessed from home. The collection of offerings is meant to be a sample representative of the variety available at this time.
This catalog consists of referrals to organizations that provide distance learning. For each organization, the listing identifies
- The distance-learning program.
- The sponsoring organization.
- The Web site that describes the program.
- A brief note on the kind of educational experiences available through the program.
Most often, the courses, seminars, or workshops available offer
- Professional development units.
- Graduate credits.
- Graduate degrees.
The content of the offerings presented here is either scientific knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, or both. In reality, there are very few science (especially lab science) courses available through distance learning, especially for the secondary-grades level. Science’s special requirement that it must be learned hands-on precludes delivering it through text alone. As virtual experiments become more available in electronic formats, the number of science offerings may increase.
Distance-learning opportunities can be accessed in the following ways:
- Online, Web-based, in real time (synchronous).
- Online, Web-based, accessible at one’s convenience (asynchronous).
- Broadcast television courses, live or recorded, interactive or one-way.
- Traditional correspondence with or without video or CD/DVD technology.
- Independent study.
- A mix of two or more of these.
The offerings listed here are provided by educational or science-rich organizations or by institutions of higher education. Although there are some free offerings, most charge a fee or tuition. The provider’s own Web site provides information about costs.
The catalog is organized into three sections:
- Offerings from organizations.
- Offerings from colleges and universities.
- Portals that are sites with lists of links to other sponsors of professional development courses and programs.
Some distance learning providers listed here do not offer science courses or programs. They are included because they offer education courses that enable the teacher to explore recent developments in teaching and, subsequently, apply them to the science classroom. For example, offerings might address serving students of diverse backgrounds or using new teaching strategies and tools, such as guided inquiry or Web-based student research.
Participants are able to schedule online and other distance learning courses at their convenience. However, most offerings establish a specific date for beginning and ending the course or program and set deadlines for assignments within that time frame. The participant sets the time spent on study between those deadlines and submits completed assignments via postal mail, e-mail, or Web site. Communication among classmates or with the instructor flows in the same ways, sometimes live (in real time), sometimes asynchronously.
This catalog of links to professional development opportunities for middle and high school science teachers is not meant to be exhaustive. It is a survey of the variety of opportunities available. The inclusion of any distance-learning Web site in this catalog should not be construed as an endorsement of that organization or product by EDC. The descriptions of the distance-learning courses in this catalog are not evaluations. Recommendations for inclusion of other links are welcome.
Web addresses are notoriously subject to change, so corrections or updates from readers are also appreciated. The courses an institution offers naturally change from time to time, as does the inclusion of courses on an institution’s Web site. For that reason, a course offering may be noted as available at the time of the program’s posting on this catalog, indicating it is subject to change.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0304104. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation
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