LTC to Conduct Research on Online Professional Development  Sept. 12th., 2006

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) has partnered with Edvance Research, Inc. in its successful effort to be chosen by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education to run the Southwestern Regional Educational Laboratory (SWREL). SWREL is one of ten educational laboratories in the Regional Educational Laboratory Network (REL Network), which are run by the IES to support research-based school reform. SWREL serves over 6.5 million students, 400,000 teachers, and 14,000 schools in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

The Learning Technology Center’s role in SWREL is to conduct a five-year study researching the effectiveness of online professional development. The study focuses on “virtual coaching,” and will explore the use of video-based technologies to increase the social presence between coach and teacher. The LTC has conducted an initial planning phase, with $41,574 in funding, and will soon enter the design and development phase of the study.

Paul Resta, Ruth Knight Millikan Centennial Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and Director of the Learning Technology Center, is the project’s Principal Investigator. Carolyn Denton, Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education, serves as Co-Principal Investigator. Marilla Svinicki, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, is Research Associate Professor, and Ken Tothero, the LTC’s Project Manager, is the Project Coordinator.

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—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator

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Last updated on February 8, 2008