Abstract

This paper examines the recent implementation of online courses at one U.S. college in light of the current literature on the best practices for preparing elementary and secondary school teachers. The authors are professors in four fields of teacher education and are all engaged in developing online courses for their graduate-level students at a small liberal arts college along the northeast U.S.-Canada border. Concerns analyzed are learning barriers in online environments and definitions of quality expected for graduates. The paper includes recommendations for our teacher education colleagues at similar institutions. These issues are important as traditional teacher education competes with alternative routes to initial teacher certification and graduate-level professional development. When distance education is offered, how can university faculty or administration identify and reduce any learning barriers that students or faculty might face in the online classroom environment? We report the results of administering an “Online Learning Barriers” questionnaire to students in our college. Within the online classroom environment, how can faculty foster positive learning experiences that will improve K-12 teacher quality? This question deals with (1) the philosophy of education that the individual faculty subscribes to, and (2) the purposes or goals for teacher training as reflected in the college mission.