Teachers’ Awareness of and Engagement with Online Resources for Professional Development, Growth, and Support

This dissertation examined teacher awareness of and engagement with online resources for professional development, growth, and support. This qualitative case study was situated in a large, urban, economically disadvantaged elementary school. Fifteen elementary school teachers were interviewed about their use of online educational resources for the purpose of professional development, growth, and support. The findings of this study show low levels of awareness among teachers about the use of online resources for professional development and growth. Teachers’ awareness of online resources for professional support, specifically instructional support, was markedly greater. In regards to teacher engagement, the findings show that teachers have very limited engagement with other teachers online. Responses indicate that teachers prefer to find and take resources as opposed to engaging in substantive two-way conversations about teaching, learning, their teaching beliefs, etc. with other teachers online. In conclusion, the findings show that teachers are not taking full advantage of online educational resources for themselves or their students. Suggestions are made for addressing these potential areas of growth at the university level with preservice teachers and for practicing teachers through changes to professional development activities.