Faculty Publication
In collaboration with researchers at University of Illinois, Dr. Xiaoli Wen, associate professor of Early Childhood Education, published an article in a top journal of Early Education and Development, titled "Evaluation of an Online Early Mathematics Professional Development Program for Early Childhood Teachers."
The researchers designed a website, Math at Home, that introduces early childhood teachers to mathematical concepts, lesson plans, videos, resources, and blogs, and developed eight FREE online courses that are hosted by the Gateways to Opportunity i-learning system.
Since 2016, over 9,711 early childhood professionals, including 9% of family care providers, in the State of Illinois had participated in this online PD program. There were over 48,558 individual course completions because most participants took more than one course. The published evaluation study showed that program participants had positive experiences with this online PD, and that engagement in the program was effective in positively impacting their attitudes, confidence, beliefs, and knowledge in teaching early math.
The participants' positive experiences were associated with their demographic characteristics and their use and engagement with the course materials. The study holds significant implications for future professional development efforts, including scalability and the use of online professional development to impact early math learning and practice.