Abstract:

The continuous development and integration of digitalisation into the personal and working environment and the rapid development of teachers' digital skills due to the unpredicted emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic, together with other circumstances, such as the increasing workload of teachers, have necessitated a change of approach in the organisation of professional development courses for teachers. An online teacher professional development course (TPDC) is one of the most efficient solutions, however, there are several important prerequisites to be considered for its effectiveness, one of which is the participants' conscious engagement and active participation in the learning process. Recently, a competence-based curriculum has been introduced in Latvia, emphasising the importance of developing students' transversal skills, thus identifying self-regulated learning (SRL) as one of the most fundamental key skills, which in turn highlights the vital necessity for the provision of adequate teacher professional development (TPD). The aim of this study was to compare the results of two studies conducted in the framework of a larger PhD research, which included two online TPD courses aimed at developing teachers' competence in developing students' SRL skills, and to analyse the prerequisites for an effective online TPD course. In Study 1, an online TPDC was conducted to teachers of Grades 7-12, attended by 126 teachers, and in Study 2, it was conducted to class teachers of Grades 1-6, attended by 67 participants. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the two TPD courses, analysing teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the courses and their self-assessment of the impact of online TPD on teachers' knowledge and skills in promoting students' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. The results of both studies confirm that this type of professional development can significantly contribute to both teachers' theoretical understanding of SRL and their competence in promoting students' SRL skills, and the paper outlines prerequisites for an effective online TPDC.

Keywords:

Online professional development, self-regulated learning, effective professional development, outcomes of teacher professional development, sustainable education.