Cultivating Community in Virtual Professional Development: A Familiar Goal/A New Frontier

During spring and summer 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown upended professional development schemes across the globe. Professional development for PK-16 teachers at one college-sponsored program abruptly shifted its forum from college campus to meeting in a virtual setting online. Over time, this annual teacher conference had developed a professional learning community that attracted remarkable keynote speakers yet cultivated a setting in which attendees felt valued during exchanges of ideas. In this study, researchers analyzed participants' reflections on their virtual experiences of shared engagement vis-a-vis the warm face-to-face professional gatherings from the past. Findings in this study offer a road map to organizers of professional development programs for teachers. Teachers expressed value for hearing insights from experts related to improved pedagogy, while also spending time in reflection with fellow classroom professionals and learning from the experiences of other teachers.