Preparing Teachers for the “Schools That Technology Built”

As a result of the growth of virtual schools across the United States, K–12 school courses and diplomas are increasingly offered, either completely or partly, at a distance. In light of this increase, it is apparent that there will be demand for teachers who are prepared to teach from a distance and a complementary need for local counselors. The U.S. Department of Education agreed that the creation of a model for incorporating virtual schooling in preservice teacher education programs accompanied by appropriate assessment of the effect for a range of competencies would be a significant innovation. This article describes the planned model led by Iowa State University and the evaluation designed to establish its effectiveness, including dissemination through a national community of practice. For example, evaluation of the competence of counselors, who will be prepared to mentor K–12 students learning from a distant teacher, moves from a formative approach into scientifically-based research with experimental and control groups. In addition, instruments to measure institutional adoption include a modified version of the CBAM instrument developed by Christensen and longitudinal surveys of preservice student teachers and graduates.