UI to use grant to study online courses for rural teachers

Teachers in rural areas will be able to advance their math education through online courses and video coaching under a $2.8 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to the University of Idaho College of Education and the University of Rochester in New York.

The four-year grant from the foundation’s Discovery Research PreK-12 program will support research of an online-based professional development model. The goal is to increase the quality of professional development opportunities for rural school teachers who may have less access to such support.

“This program will ensure teachers in remote areas of Idaho are receiving instructional support that will ultimately influence student learning in mathematics,” said Julie Amador, assistant professor in the UI College of Education and director of the Idaho Region 1 Match Center in Coeur d’Alene.

Research teams in Idaho and New York will study online professional development activities to better understand the limitations and benefits of such activities in virtual rather than face-to-face settings.