Internet Learning Volume 7, Number 1 • 2018/2019 | Page 22

Preparing Teachers for the 21 st Century Classroom
struction during field experiences in
local K-12 public school classrooms.
While this preparation is important, it
is equally important to prepare preservice
teachers for virtual instruction so
they are not ill-equipped to handle the
changing demands of online learning in
the 21 st century classroom. Studies conducted
as early as 2007 demonstrate the
need for and benefits of including online
instruction in teacher preparation
programs (Charania, 2010; Compton &
Davis, 2010; Davis, Demiraslan, Charania,
Compton, & Correia, 2007; Ferdig,
Cavanaugh, KiPietro, Black, & Dawson,
2009). By 2010, Iowa State University
and Georgia’s Kennesaw State University
offered coursework to prepare teachers
for virtual learning, and the University
of South Florida and the University
of Central Florida offered online teaching
internships (Compton & Davis,
2010; Quillen, 2010). However, those
programs were exceptions, and virtual
learning for K-12 students continues to
be a relatively new concept for teacher
education (Ferdig et al., 2009; Quillen,
2010). Research is needed in this area
(DiPietro, Ferdig, Black, and Preston,
2008) to inform programs and professional
development. “Very few virtual
school teachers receive training to
teach online from their teacher education
programs” (Barbour, 2012, p. 505)
as much of the training is done through
professional development by the virtual
schools themselves. Barbour points
out that the biggest obstacle is the lack
of available models to guide effective
design of virtual teaching experiences.
Moore-Adams, Jones, and Cohen
(2016), in their systematic review of the
available literature, conclude that
few programs address the range
of skills and knowledge required
by teachers to effectively teach
online. As the number of online
learning opportunities increase
for K-12 students, both in the
form of completely online and
as hybrid learning experiences,
these findings are important as
the need for highly effective online
teachers increases as well. (p.
345–346)
Today, training for preservice and
practicing/invservice teachers to excel
in virtual teaching exists more commonly
as an elective experience in educator
preparation programs rather than
a required one, and through coursework
rather than field experiences.
One clinical field example that
could be emulated nationwide for improved
effectiveness in teacher preparation
is modeled in a University of
West Georgia (UWG) graduate course
for elementary and secondary preservice
and inservice teachers: ECSE
7566 Advanced Instructional Strategies
for the 21 st Century Classroom. Course
activities include teaching students, or
candidates, to manipulate instructional
components in an LMS, create their
own instructional videos, and most
importantly, participate in an active
course field experience at Georgia Virtual
School (GAVS). UWG’s College of
Education’s online graduate education
programs have received national recognition;
U.S. News & World Report
ranked them 101 of nearly 1500 distance
education programs across the
nation in its 2018 rankings (U.S. News,
2018). The UWG–GAVS partnership
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