e-Learning for Educators is funded by a Ready-to-Teach grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of these grants is to improve teacher instructional practices for resulting improvements in student academic improvement. The e-Learning for Educators project includes the nation’s first large-scale study of the effectiveness of online instruction as a means to improve pedagogy (“the art or science of instruction”). Until now, there have been no such large-scale studies to determine if online development programs can actually improve teaching and student performance.

Why is the research study needed?
Prior studies of online professional development have been rather limited. The groups have been small; the teacher-training was for shorter periods; and student improvement measure was solely based on standardized test scores.

In the e-Learning research studies being conducted by the Technology Assessment and Study Collaborative (inTASC) at Boston College, these shortcomings have been addressed. The study groups will be quite large – more than 960 teachers at more than 480 schools. It will consist of studies that cover much longer periods of time, most being over three years. Student improvement will be assessed using tests customized to align with the teacher-training, rather than using standardized tests.

When will the studies begin, and how long will they last?
The first studies are set to begin in January of 2007. Three sets of studies will take place: one each semester for three consecutive school terms. The first set of studies will begin in January of 2007 and end in the spring of 2008.

What subject areas and grade-levels will be studied?
Two studies will focus on upper-elementary grades (4th - 5th) and in middle grades (7th - 8th). Math and English Language Arts will be the subject areas for the aforementioned first set of research studies conducted from January of 2007 through the spring of 2008.

Is my school eligible to participate? How can I learn more?
If you have questions that are not answered herein, or if you are interested in participating in this study, please contact inTASC directly at Boston College. Your request will be for informational purposes only, and you are not committing to participate in the study by requesting additional information. Boston College has established a website that provides detailed information about the research project, as well as participation criteria. That link is http://www.bc.edu/research/intasc/studies/eLearning/description.shtml#, or you may contact Boston College via email at efe.research@bc.edu or by telephone at (617) 552-3574.

The research team is seeking Title I schools for this study. One hundred and twenty schools are needed for the project, and a three-semester commitment is required. Stipends are available for participating teachers and schools. If your school is located within Alabama, and you would like more information about participating in the research, please contact Tom Dreilinger, Alabama e-Learning for Educators Project Director, via email at elearning@alsde.edu or by telephone at (334) 670-1884.

For more information about the overall project, please contact Lynne Meeks via email at lmeeks@aptv.org or by telephone at 1-800-239-5233.