Beyond Learning by Videoconference: Findings From a Capacity-Building Study of Kosovan Teachers in the Post-Covid-19 Era

  • Antigona Uka Founder and Executive Director at Kosova Center for Digital Education (KCDE), Prishtina, Kosova, and PhD student at the Central European University, Vienna, Austria
  • Marigona Morina PhD candidate at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Eugene G. Kowch Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Keywords: online education, professional development programmes, teachers’ needs, instructional design, innovation

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers were exposed to technology-enhanced learning as an emergency measure, yet despite decades of advancement in educational technology, the online learning experiences lacked deliberate design. Recent research highlights a gap concerning the design elements of online professional development and teachers’ needs for professional development in online education. Through this Design-Based Research, we therefore sought to offer an intervention in the form of a professional development programme built on the specific needs of teachers. In the present study, we report on the findings from this two-cycle, five-phase online professional development, taken by 90 practising high school teachers across Kosova. The study sheds light on teachers’ experiences and attitudes, as well as their readiness to take hands-on approaches to integrate, when available, complex technologies while leveraging the power of instructional design concepts in the post-Covid-19 era. The evidence indicates that, in order to develop effective teaching capacity in this environment, online professional development programmes must go beyond simple off-the-shelf technology (i.e., videoconferencing) applications. Similarly, our data shows that the inclusion of prior needs assessment in online and blended teacher development instruction positively impacts the development of teachers’ attitudes towards online education. The present paper provides specific recommendations for any innovative education system leader, teacher or scholar hoping to leverage new online learning knowledge to strengthen teacher practice.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anderson, T., & Shattuck, J. (2012). Design-based research: A decade of progress in education research? Educational Researcher, 41(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X11428813

Bannan-Ritland, B. (2003). The role of design in research: The integrative learning design framework. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X032001021

Beach, P., Favret, E., Minuk, A., & Martinussen, R. (2022). Canadian teachers’ perceptions of online professional development. Journal of Educators Online, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt27948

Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R. M., Surkes, M. A., & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243–1289. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654309333844

Bragg, A. L., Walsh, C., & Heyeres, M. (2021). Successful design and delivery of online professional development. Computers & Education, 166, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104158

Carrillo, C., Flores, M. A. (2020). COVID-19 and teacher education: A literature review of online teaching and learning practices. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 466–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1821184

Conole, G. (2014). The 7Cs of learning design – A new approach to rethinking design practice. In S. Bayne, C. Jones, M. de Laat, T. Ryberg, & C. Sinclair (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Networked Learning (pp. 502–509). University of Edinburgh. https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2014/abstracts/pdf/conole.pdf

Crossman, K. E. (2014). Intensive English for academic purposes: A curriculum designed and developed for local English language learners entering university. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Calgary, Graduate Studies].

Czerkawski, B. C., & Lyman, E. W. (2016). An instructional design framework for fostering student engagement in online learning environments. TechTrends, 60(6), 532–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-016-0110-z

Dede, C. (2014). The role of digital technologies in deeper learning (Students at the Center: Deeper Learning Research Series). Jobs for the Future. https://studentsatthecenterhub.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Role-of-Digital-Technologies-in-Deeper-Learning-120114-1.pdf

Eickelmann, B., & Vennemann, M. (2017). Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding ICT in teaching and learning in European countries. European Educational Research Journal EERJ, 16(6), 733–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904117725899

Forman, E. A., & McPhail, J. (1993). Vygotskian perspective on children’s collaborative problemsolving activities. In E. A. Forman, N. Minick, & C. A. Stone (Ed.), Contexts for learning: Sociocultural dynamics in children’s development (pp. 213–229). Oxford University Press.

Fuch, C., & Phillips, C. R. (2022). Working together to get it right: Creating a just-in-time professional development course for faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education, 6(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1615/IntJInnovOnlineEdu.2022045084

Gao, D., & Ji, Y. (2019). Research on the framework of online course design based on “First Principles of Instruction”. In K. Tutschku (Ed.), The 2nd Conference on Education and Cognition, Behavior, Neuroscience, ESSP proceedings series (pp. 30–38). Francis Academic Press. https://webofproceedings.org/proceedings_series/ESSP/ICECBN%202019/CBN16006.pdf

Garrison, D. R. (2016). Thinking collaboratively: Learning in a community of inquiry (1st ed). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315740751

Gorozidis, G., & Papaioannou, A. G. (2014). Teachers’ motivation to participate in training and to implement innovations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.12.001

Guskey, T. (2002). Professional development and teacher change. Teachers and Teaching, 8(3), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/135406002100000512

Herrington, J., McKenney, S., Reeves, T., & Oliver, R. (2007). Design-based research and doctoral students: Guidelines for preparing a dissertation proposal. In C. Montgomerie, & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (pp. 4089–4097). AACE.

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, B. (2021, March 27). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-andonline-learning

Kaden, U. (2020). COVID-19 School closure-related changes to the professional life of a K-12 Teacher. Education Sciences, 10(6), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10060165

Karataş, S., Yilmaz, A. B., Dikmen, C. H., Ermiş, U. F., & Gürbüz, O. (2017). Interaction in distance education environments: A trend analysis. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 18(1), 63–82.

Kowch, E. (2021). Leading transformation with digital innovations in schools and universities: Beyond adoption. In D. I. Fenthaler, S. Hofhues, M. Egloffstein, & C. Helbig (Eds.), Digital transformaction of learning organizations (pp. 145–168). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55878-9_9

Kuhfeld, M., Soland, J., Lewis, K., Ruzek, E., & Johnson, A. (2022). The COVID-19 school year: Learning and recovery across 2020-2021. AERA Open, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221099306

Lai, C. L., & Hwang, G. J. (2021). Strategies for enhancing self-regulation in e-learning: A review of selected journal publications from 2010 to 2020. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(6), 3747–3779. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1943455

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE.

Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205–222. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v22i1.1092

Martin, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Kumar, S., & Budhrani, K. (2019). Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation. The Internet and Higher Education, 42, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.04.001

McKenney, & Reeves, T. C. (2018). Conducting educational design research (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315105642

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02505024

Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Kosova. (2017). Framework for Teacher Professional Development. https://masht.rks-gov.net/korniza-strategjike-per-zhvillimin-e-mesimdhenesve-ne-kosove/

Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Kosova. (2022). Education Strategy 2022-2026. https://masht.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/03-Strategja-e-Arsimit-2022-2026-Eng-Web.pdf

Morina, M., Uka, A., & Raza, K. (2021). A case study on Kosovan teachers’ transition to distance education during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education, 5(2), 33–54. https://doi.org/10.1615/IntJInnovOnlineEdu.2021038933

Rao, K., & Meo, G. (2016). Using universal design for learning to design standards-based lessons. SAGE Open, 6(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016680688

Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). Instructional-design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory (1st ed., Vol. II). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410603784

Scull, J., Philips, M., Sharma, U., & Garnier, K. (2020). Innovations in teacher education at the time of COVID19: An Australian perspective. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 46(4), 497–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1802701

Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (2022). Emerging Teachers Development Program: Capstone Project [Class handout]. University of Calgary, TI 0898 002.

Urankar, B., & Jamšek, J., (2022). Insights into engineering education teaching practice in Slovenian primary schools during the Covid-19 pandemic: Distance learning model. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 12(4), 258–261. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1153

Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. ETR&D, 53, 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504682

West, R. E. (2022). Introduction to design, delivery, and assessment in ODDE: Theories, research, and practices to guide ODDE design and assessment. In O. Zawacki-Richter, & I. Jung (Eds.), Handbook of open, distance and digital education (pp. 1155–1157). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_89-1

Zawacki-Richter, O., & Jung, I. (Eds.). (2023). Handbook of open, distance and digital education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_79-1

Published
2025-03-25
How to Cite
Uka, A., Morina, M., & Kowch, E. G. (2025). Beyond Learning by Videoconference: Findings From a Capacity-Building Study of Kosovan Teachers in the Post-Covid-19 Era. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 15(1), 175–199. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1715