Perspectives: Reaching Rural Educators with Hybrid Online Professional Development
Abstract: In June 2020, TPS Mississippi converted a 36-hour face to face professional development into a virtual hybrid format using both synchronous and asynchronous components. In this presentation, we share the preliminary results of our investigation into the quality and nature of thirty six teacher participants’ experiences in the hybrid virtual PD and areas of improvement for future hybrid PD. Results indicate that participants’ experience was positive and that they learned much they plan to use in their professional practice. However, their positive experience was tempered somewhat by technology challenges and connectivity issues. In this paper we share these challenges and propose ways to address them in the future.