Joshua Littenberg-Tobias

The growing interest in professional development for teachers via massive open online courses (MOOCs) raises the need for identifying the existing gaps in the literature on the topic. In this literature review, we were able to identify 68 relevant studies. They mostly used mixed methods (57%) and surveys (82%), and only reported descriptive statistics (52%). They also tended to measure participants’ attitudes (41%) and engagement (40%). Based on our findings, we recommend that future researchers consider additional data collection and analysis methods (e.g., clickstream data, objective performance measures) and use correlational, longitudinal, and experimental designs.

Student Pre-Post Measures used in the U.S. History Collection Impact Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of GBH’s PBS LearningMedia U.S. History Collection on students historical knowledge and thinking skills after being taught with resources from the Collection. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial, and collected data from more than 1,200 students in 86 classrooms across 17 states. Teachers’ classes were randomly assigned to either be taught with the resources (“treatment”) or be taught as they would have otherwise (“business-as-usual”). All students completed the same pre- and post-assessment and teachers also answered pre- and post-surveys and completed weekly implementation logs. Key Findings:Teachers reported that the U.S. History Collection helped students better understand multiple historical perspectives. Ninety-six percent of teachers agreed that it improved students’ ability to ask critical questions about historical events. Students in U.S. History Collection classes gained more historical knowledge compared to “business-as-usual” classes. On average, students in classes with the resources increased their scores on a content knowledge assessment by 34% compared to 4% for those in classes taught without the resources. Students in U.S. History Collection classes developed stronger historical thinking skills compared to “business-as-usual” classes. Students in classes with the resources had a 27% improvement in historical thinking skills compared to 8% in classes without the resources.

Identifying online users’ contexts can help researchers understand their needs. However, the validity of different methods for identifying the location of online users has been underexplored. This paper proposes using multiple methods and examining their impact on different research questions to determine their validity. It then demonstrates this approach using data from six Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) by examining whether different methods produce different results regarding the relationship between SES and participation and engagement in MOOCs. We found that the choice of method impacted the estimated SES of the sample; IP geolocation placed participants in lower SES districts in comparison with their self-reported districts. Using all geolocation methods, we found that our MOOCs’ learners tended to be located in high-SES districts, but the results were inconclusive regarding the relationship between SES and course engagement. Based on this case study, we suggest that using multiple methods produces more robust findings. However, when methods diverge in findings, researchers should consider which method is most suitable for their specific purposes.

Given the widespread evidence of discriminatory behavior and widening racial disparities, it is imperative that educators address systemic inequities in education. Clinical simulations are a promising vehicle for helping educators identify and disrupt inequity in teaching. We developed a short digital learning intervention—a digital clinical simulation (DCS) and associated asynchronous video-based simulation debrief (VD). We studied the effectiveness of each component of this intervention using a staggered randomized experiment within the first unit of an 8-week online professional development course (N = 787). We found no statistically significant differences in equity beliefs between participants in the two experimental conditions of the study (DCS-only, and DCS + VD) and the control condition. In a qualitative analysis of reflection responses, we found that only 26.2% participants independently showed some evidence of equity-based reasoning in their simulation post-DCS self-reflections, but that 42.9%\showed some evidence of equity-based reasoning in their post-VD self-reflection. These findings suggest that shifts toward equity might not manifest immediately after the digital clinical simulation. More research is needed on how digital clinical simulations may affect the trajectories of equity development and what effects other components, such as personalize.