Social Presence Amid Physical Distance: Best Practices for K-12 Online Teaching and Implications for Teacher Professional Development
Abstract: Kindergarten-12 educators know from experience that a lack of connection with students results in a lack of student engagement in learning. Likewise, research emphasizes the vital importance student engagement has on achievement. Not surprisingly, however, connections between learners and online learning environments look a bit different from traditional brick-and-mortar settings. The pandemic required many educators to rethink ways to both innovatively and effectively teach K-12 students. Informed by over a decade of research, the social presence framework offers multiple strategies for connecting with online learners, both synchronously and asynchronously, across physical distance. One well-established statewide online school district sought ways to share best practices influenced by the social presence framework that teachers new to online learning environments could apply to their online teaching practice right away. In the future, this framework will be utilized to enhance teacher professional development and encourage additional research on the parental involvement connection with the framework. This presentation will share online teaching best practices, free resources, and success stories from the research partnership that continues to facilitate the work.