A Digital Teaching Platform to Further and Assess Use of Evidence-based Practices:

The Internet is here to stay, providing instant constant communication and unlimited resources for learning. Rural teacher preparation programs in special education have benefited from advances in online learning that remove the constraints of a common location and time creating greater opportunities for recruitment, access, and collaboration (Ludlow & Brannan, 2010). In addition to convenience, new online teaching platforms, whether used as distance learning or supplements to face-to-face programs, satisfy a new generation of digitally savvy teacher candidates by using tools readily available in many K-12 settings to develop instructional competencies. Although online learning is growing, there remain many questions as to teacher candidates' readiness to learn effectively online and how teacher preparation programs use online tools to develop more highly qualified teachers to serve students in high need areas, such as special education and rural settings (Williamson, Martin, &. Hess, 2002; Keramidas, 2012).To address these questions of how to better prepare highly qualified dually certified general and special education teachers who provide rigorous and accessible services for all students in grades 1-12 in culturally diverse settings, Fordham Graduate School of Education (GSE) faculty redesigned and implemented a new teacher preparation program. The design efforts were supported through a 325T Program Improvement Personnel federal grant, Rigor, Equity, and Access through Collaboration in Higher Education (Project REACH). Outcomes of the new program were to increase teacher candidates' confidence in serving students with disabilities and using EBPs and increase communication among faculty and teacher candidates within courses, across courses, and to partners in field placements, including how feedback is used to improve teacher candidate performance, tracking teacher candidate growth toward professional standards and impact on student learning. To attain the Project REACH goals of increased communication and improved use of data to inform instruction, faculty needed a tool to systemize the use of formative assessment.The Challenge of Formative Assessment Data in Teacher PreparationIn teacher preparation programs, faculty members grapple with how to effectively track teacher candidate progress toward knowledge mastery and implementation of evidencebased practices (EBPs) to teach diverse students in inclusive settings across courses and programs. Often, assessment data are not available for faculty until after courses are completed, making instruction adjustments to meet individual teacher candidate needs difficult. Similarly, teacher candidates lack a tool to monitor their own efforts to learn and implement the specific strategies taught and practiced across courses over time. The primary audience of assessments in teacher preparation is typically the professor, resulting in limited shared accumulation of knowledge and experience within the community of teacher candidates and program stakeholders.A Solution: Project REACFI OnlineThe free Project REACH Online digital teaching platform, www.projectreachonline.org, harnesses the affordances of technology to address the problem of furthering and measuring teacher candidate mastery of EBPs in teacher preparation. Through this tool, teacher candidates work together as they monitor and direct their own learning and use of EBPs. In addition, key features, such as instant communication, unlimited potential for collaboration, digital badging, and automated learning analytics, emphasize desired learning outcomes for 21st century learners of any age (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).Project REACH Online Objectives and Expected OutcomesProject REACH Online established objectives and expected outcomes for faculty and teacher candidates to make significant changes in the use of formative assessment in teacher preparation. Through Project REACH Online, faculty use formative assessments to monitor growth of teacher candidate competences by offering feedback efficiently. …