TAKING STAFF DEVELOPMENT ONLINE: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE OF BEST PRACTICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Professional staff development is a continual process of individual and group assessment where the goal is to inform and improve practice in a school environment. The overall goal is to allow educators and communities of learners the ability to make complex decisions, identify and solve problems; and connect theory into practice to improve student outcomes in the classroom. It is an absolute necessity to ensure teachers continually improve their skills to meet the high standards of learning set for every child. Professional staff development is not only necessary for the benefit of improving instruction but is a requirement by the majority of school corporations in the United States. Continual professional staff development enables educators the ability to offer students learning opportunities to meet outstanding standards in specified content areas and to successfully assume real-world roles and responsibilities for life beyond the classroom. In today's current economic landscape, with budget cuts at unforeseen highs, professional development teams are exploring alternative delivery modes to ensure teachers continue to learn with effective and efficient methods. This article explores steps for developing teacher professional development for the online delivery systems for K-12 school corporations and best practices, which include second life options, to meet school corporation requirements. We explain the long-range vision and strategic plan necessary for moving beyond the traditional delivery methods and provide and in-depth guide, which leads readers through a step-by-step process of the online instructional delivery.