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Presenter: Kimberly Ann Chernesky, Current EdD student.
Drexel University
March 11, 2020
Email: kac553@drexel.edu
Supervising Professor: Kristen Betts, Ed.D.

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Poster presenters with topics provided in section below.

School of Education students and alumni will share Poster Presentations both on campus and online focused on research related to Mind, Brain, and Education science.

The E-LaBS Open House & MBE Research Showcase is a student-led event that includes technology and research demonstrations as well as Poster Presentations related to MBE science.

Listed below are10-minute lightning round presentations and demonstrations that will be offered concurrently throughout the Open House. Come and learn more about the innovative research being led by E-LaBS members and partners.

Brian Delaney, PhD Candidate l Kate Yiyun Fan, PhD Student l Madison Betts, Undergraduate Student

For any questions about the MBE Open House or Research Showcase, please contact Dr. Kristen Betts at kbetts@drexel.edu or 912-257-8336. E-LaBS website: http://drexelelabs.net/

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Research Showcase: Dates Coming Soon | Elabs

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Poster presenters with topics provided in section below. School of Education students and alumni will share Poster Presentations both on campus and online focused on research related to Mind, Brain, and Education science. The E-LaBS Open House & MBE Research Showcase is a student-led event that includes technology and research demonstrations as well as Poster Presentations related to MBE science.

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Andragogy: is any intentional activity and professionally guided activity that aims at a change in adult persons (Knowles, Holton III, & Swanson, 2015).

Brain-based education: is best understood in three words: engagement, strategies, and principles. It is the engagement of strategies based on principles derived from and understanding the process of the brain. (Jensen, 2008).

Community of Practice (CoP): a community of learners that develop shared norms and practices through their collective activities and experiences (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

Distance Learning: is defined in the Technical Assistance Guide for Performance Accountability under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: National Reporting System for Adult Education as a formal learning activity in which the students and instructors are separated by geography, time, or both.

Mind, Brain, Education Science is the “study of how humans learn best in order to develop more effective teaching methods” (Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2011, p. 14).

Neuroplasticity: The ability of the brain’s synapses, neurons, dendrites, and myelin-coated axons to change their properties in response to usage (stimulation). When there is repeated stimulation of a circuit of linked neurons, the connections become more developed, resulting in more efficient retrieval of the information they hold (McTighe & Willis, 2019, p 166).

Pedagogy: derived from the Greek words Paid, meaning “child” and agogus, meaning “leader of.” Thus, pedagogy literally means the art and science of teaching children (Knowles, Holton III, & Swanson, 2015).

Professional Development: defined as those processes and activities designed to enhance the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of educators so that they might, in turn, improve the learning of students (Guskey, 2000).

System: an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something (Meadows, 2008).

Systems Thinking: simply means stepping back and seeing patterns that are, when seen clearly, intuitive and easy to grasp (Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur, & Schley (2010).

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Based on the educators expected to participate, qualitative data will be collected using (a) one-on-one semi-structured interviews, (b) a focus group, (c) artifacts, and (d) researcher notes. The decision to conduct the research through an online outlet is being made based on accessibility for the researcher to conduct the interviews as the participants are located across the state of Pennsylvania.

I anticipate the research to:
- be a qualitative, Interpretive phenomenological study that seeks to understand the essence of educators' experiences with professional development.
- selected participants using purposeful and criterion sampling.
- 10-12 participants will be recruited and invited to participate in the one-on-one interviews.
- 4-5 participants will be recruited and invited to participate in the focus group.

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Professional development for ESL Adult Educators in Distance Learning may not fully support best teaching practices in the learning sciences during online instruction with Adult ESL Distance Learners.

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Distance Education is on the rise, and the U.S. Department of Education (2016a) states “the remarkable pace of the transition to digital learning in America’s schools has made it challenging for teacher preparation programs to stay ahead of the curve” (p. 6). This would indicate that educators who teach adults in a distance learning environment need professional development (PD) that will help support their students’ online learning. A need exists to prepare teachers in utilizing adult learning principles and the learning sciences to address individualized student needs and to increase social interaction and the comfort level of using online tools for instruction.

This study seeks to understand how the learning sciences and social interaction have been transforming teachers’ practice as they plan for instruction, instruct, assess, and monitor student work. Ensuring that teachers become knowledgeable in the use of research-based strategies for instruction is one of the major goals of teacher effectiveness. It is crucial that teachers feel well-informed and optimistic of the benefits that professional development offers for instruction. Student success depends on an educator’s ability to access current and relevant information.

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The purpose of this research is to explore how educators who teach adult ESL students online perceive their social interaction with students to inform instruction. With advances in technology and a surge in adults seeking educational opportunities to learn through distance learning, a need exists for professional development to support educators as they create engaging lessons that promote interactive and student-centered learning. Professional development and teaching should address differences in student experiences, background knowledge, skill levels, talents and interests in order to promote active attention to learning, and positive social and emotional experiences. Addressing all of these components will help motivate learners to persist in an online learning environment.

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This phenomenological study will be guided by one leading question:

What is the essence of the lived experiences of Pennsylvania Distance Learning Educators in Adult ESL that have led them to building skills and understanding the andragogy and learning sciences to effectively deliver online instruction with Adult ESL students in Pennsylvania’s Adult Basic Literacy Programs?
In addition, the following subset of questions will be explored:

1.     How do Pennsylvania Distance Learning Educators in Adult ESL describe their professional development experiences to support adult ESL students during online teaching and learning?

2.     How do Pennsylvania Distance Learning educators in Adult ESL perceive their role in engagement and social interactions with students during instruction in an online learning environment?

3.     What challenges exist for educators in transferring instructional strategies from professional development into practice for Adult ESL online learners?

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Dissertation: A Phenomenological Approach to Pennsylvania Educators’ Perceptions of Professional Development in Adult ESL Distance Learning.

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Dissertation: A Phenomenological Approach to Pennsylvania Educators’ Perceptions of Professional Development in Adult ESL Distance Learning.

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© Copyright 2021 Kimberly Ann Chernesky. All Rights Reserved