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Developing Leadership in a National Cohort of Secondary Biology Teachers: Uses of an On-Line Course Structure to Develop a Geographically Distant Professional Learning Community

Abstract

"This report is a descriptive study of the role that on-line courses might have on the development of Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) that support national leadership initiatives of participating high school biology teachers. The one hundred teachers involved in the Life Sciences for a Global Community (LSGC) Institute are expected not only to deepen their content knowledge, but also impact their district and state biology curricula. Additionally, the dispersion of Institute participants across the country presents a unique opportunity to develop, communicate, and implement a national coherent reform agenda. However, the geographic distance presents a barrier to collaborative design of leadership projects. Therefore, the LSGC Institute designed web-based, distance learning courses as a means for both the instruction and development of distant professional relationships."