Poster Presentation 17 — Changing Mindsets and Practices Toward Equity in Gifted Education Through Online Professional Learning — Nancy B. Hertzog, Yijie Wang, Yanan Li, & Jann Leppien
Monday, May 20, 2024, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Student Union Ballroom, Rooms 330/331
Researchers examined the impact of online professional learning modules funded with a Javits Grant designed to promote equity and access to gifted education across the state, including the experiences of the educators who accessed them and the outcomes for students in districts where the modules were used. The learning modules incorporated the process of improvement science (plan-do-study-act), which called for educators using the modules to make changes. In a two-phase process, respondents completed a Qualtrics questionnaire and then volunteered to be interviewed. Data included results from 35 questionnaires that probed how participants accessed and used the online professional learning modules, as well as if they made any changes to their teaching or their gifted programs. The researchers also investigated whether participants’ mindsets and thinking changed because of participating in the online professional learning modules. Survey results indicated a moderate shift in participants’ teaching methods and thought processes regarding gifted education after engaging with the online learning modules. In addition, based on these data and what we know about adult learning, there is a need to design more interactive learning components to further engage educators in their own learning.