Transitioning STEM-focused Teacher Professional Development from f2f toOnline

TL;DR

This study compares teachers' perceptions of an astronomy education professional development program conducted fully face-to-face and fully online, highlighting differences in perceived benefits and logistical challenges.

Contribution

It provides insights into how transitioning from face-to-face to online formats affects teacher perceptions of professional development programs.

Findings

Field trips were valued more in face-to-face format.

Technology was seen as a benefit more in the online iteration.

Overall program effectiveness was perceived similarly across both formats.

Abstract

This paper compares two cases of a Teacher Professional Development (TPD) focused on astronomy education: the San Antonio Teacher Training Astronomy Academy (SATTAA). The central question here is: How do in-service teachers' perceptions of the logistics and key benefits of SATTAA compare across two cases: the 2019 fully face-to-face (f2f) iteration in 2019, and the fully online iteration in 2020. Participants in both iterations equally indicated that they thought of their experiences as valuable and the program effective with two exceptions: (1) field trips that took place f2f were ranked higher than virtual options; and (2) technology was highlighted as benefit in the 2020 online iteration, but not in the 2019 f2f program.